2013-14 EPL Season

[Uncle Si]

Pardew has to get the sack for that, surely? Ridiculous.

Liverpool with a solid, needed win. Clean sheet was important, but the 3 points are the most important thing. Putting ourselves in a REALLY good position to shove ARSEnal out of the picture this month. Arsenal could scarce afford to lose to the likes of Stoke today, they have so many tough matches coming up this month. I'll be surprised if they're still in the race come the end of the month.

Very good win for the Reds today. Keeping pace with Chelsea while surpassing a fading Arsenal team.

Despite being thoroughly outplayed the first 45 they held a one goal lead, made the adjustments and finished comfortably... That's a title winning attitude away from home

Oh...poor poor Arsenal

 

[Uncle Si]

Arsenals next 6 fixtures...
League:
Chelsea
Spurs
Home to City
Everton

Cup:
At Bayern
At Everton

Currently 4th and desperate for a spark. Where do they find it in that mess of games?

 

[theENGLISHseahawk]

Might not happen this year but Liverpool have a great opportunity to do something over the next couple of years.

Man Utd are a shambles, but they'll return (with or without Moyes). City aren't going to arse about forever, while Chelsea will always be willing to-reload.

But right now Liverpool are showing more they have in a long time, with a genuinely world class talent in Suarez and a very settled atmosphere (never thought I'd type 'Suarez' and 'settled' together).

They're avoiding some of the drama plaguing the other challengers.

Arsenal on the other hand -- if they don't win something this year, they might never win something. They can't bottle this. Best chance in years to win a title and they're blowing it.

 

[theENGLISHseahawk]

I couldn't see a scenario where Suarez remained settled. I was stunned when he signed his new deal. I think for the blatant disrespect he showed the club and the fans -- I would still say in that situation I would've sold him. But fair play to them, it's worked out. If he's happy and settled in 2-3 years and Liverpool are winning, I'll be well and truly proven wrong there.

On Rodgers, he's grown on me a little. I think at times he could've been stronger. But on the other hand, you can't complain with that table right now. He was always tactically sound. In all honesty I'd like to see him achieve something. He's more palatable than the other coaches among the big clubs. Good luck to him.

The only thing I'd challenge Peaches is the Man Utd suggestion. They won't be set back for years. Different era this. If they have to bin off Moyes (I would) at the end of the year, so be it. They need a rebuild. But it's flippin Man Utd. Too big, too powerful. They're not going to loiter down there for long.

I'd also ask Sir Alex to quietly do one. His presence at every game and within the hierarchy is immensely detrimental IMO. At a time when the likes of Guardiola and Mourinho were on the market, they ended up with Moyes because Sir Alex wanted another dour looking Scot who'd won bugger all. That club needs a top class manager, someone big enough to be the identity of the club going forward. Fergie can't be that image now he's retired.

 

[Gatehawk]

You all can go stand in line with those bastards, Stoke City, their asshole fans and that incompetent ref and get hit by a train.

 

[Uncle Si]

You all can go stand in line with those bastards, Stoke City, their asshole fans and that incompetent ref and get hit by a train.

Certainly not Wenger, Ozil, Giroud, Podolski, etc...

You have to be disappointed?

 

[Gatehawk]

You all can go stand in line with those bastards, Stoke City, their asshole fans and that incompetent ref and get hit by a train.

Certainly not Wenger, Ozil, Giroud, Podolski, etc...

You have to be disappointed?

Oh no, I'm not disappointed, that ship sailed after Stoke got that cheap ass goal.

 

[Gatehawk]

You all can go stand in line with those bastards, Stoke City, their asshole fans and that incompetent ref and get hit by a train.

Certainly not Wenger, Ozil, Giroud, Podolski, etc...

You have to be disappointed?

Oh no, I'm not disappointed, that ship sailed after Stoke got that cheap ass goal.

It wasn't THAT cheap, gate. Koscielny also fouled Walters on that play. It was maybe a wee bit soft, but I've seen penalties given for a LOT less. Would you really have been more satisfied with a 0-0 draw? Arsenal look devoid of ideas against teams that are well-organized. I tried to warn you last week about the fact that it was only Sunderland and you threw it back in my face. Arsenal are now staring down the barrell of an extremely tough run of fixtures, with Spurs looming only 6 points back, and after the Chelsea match, Spurs might only be 3 points back when Arsenal travel to WHL. Do I think SPurs will finish above Arsenal? No, I don't. but it's worth thinking about. If Arsenal have to scrap it out to finish 4th this season with yet another empty trophy cabinet, surely questions need to be asked of Wenger? Has he really shown progress this year?

So this is a penalty? THIS IS A F***ING PENALTY!?

https://vine.co/v/MKxWWH59vVr

TE ME WHERE THE HELL IS THE INTENTION IN THAT "HANDBALL"! THE FREAKING RULE IS THAT IT HAS TO BE DELIBERATE! THAT WASN'T DELIBERATE! I'M DONE TAKING ABOUT THE MATCH NOW DROP IT AND MOVE ON!

And yeah, I shot down what you said about last week because Sunderland did allow Arsenal to run them over but Arsenal still took advantage of it and that's what you have to do when presented with the opportunity! And even if Spurs win next week, and pull to 3 points out, Arsenal will have a game in hand because they'll be busy with the FA Cup.

 

[Uncle Si]

Gate.... to clarify, a handball does not have to be deliberate (meaning your intent is to hit the ball with your hand). If your hand/arm is loose (not tucked in) and the ball strikes the arm and redirects its progress to goal, then its a penalty.

Now, that being said, that was very harsh. His arm is out there, but its part of the jump. The ball redirected into his hand (looks like he volleyball tipped it) but it certainly wasnt going to goal. Unlucky right there.

But seriously, Arsenal were lucky to score 0 on Saturday. Stoke are devils at home, and played like the better team in the second half. But it was never going to be anything more than 1 point for them. No invention whatsoever, no urgency. Ozil on the bench.

Where are Arsenal going to find the form to scratch out results in the next month. The fixture list looks like Mourinho picked it for them.

 

[Uncle Si]

No mention of Koscielny's high boot there, Gate? As I said, it's maybe a wee bit soft, but Arsenal can't exactly feel hard done-by with that result.

I brought up the Sunderland match because it seems that everyone else except you could see Arsenal's cracks appearing a few weeks ago, and that match for me was a blip on an otherwise uninterrupted downward trajectory.

Honest question, if Arsenal crash out of the FA cup in the semis, lose to Bayern here next week and struggle to finish 4th, do you think Wenger gets the sack?

4th is a trophy at Arsenal.

 

[Gatehawk]

You guys are assholes.

 

[Uncle Si]

Reported....

your mom's not happy with your foul language by the way

 

[Gatehawk]

You guys are assholes.

***SHOTS FIRED***

Seriously though, address my question please.

You mean the high boot that was always going for ball before it was kicked into Laurent's hand? How bout the stomps on Giroud by Adam(who has been charged by the FA for one of the stomps)?

 

[Gatehawk]

Adam is being rightly charged for that stamp. He's a dirty bastard and I'm glad he's not a Liverpool player anymore because he's shite. I'm not talking about that game anymore, Gate. Arsenal didn't play well and Stoke are probably full value for the win. My question regarding Wenger is what I'm talking about. If Arsenal crash out of the CL and the FA cup and barely manage to finish fourth, is it time for him to go?

I'm never gonna say Stoke were worth all 3 points as the only time they threatened was on a few set pieces when there was chaos in front of goal.

As for you question. Allow me to answer that with this one: If he goes, who would replace him? The only way I see him going is if Arsenal has his replacement already figured out, and can get him to come to the Gunners, and to me, Jurgen Klopp is the only one that makes sense as his style is mostly similar to Wenger's and it wouldn't be a massive change in the club. However it'd be tough to lure him away from Dortmund. Though it's been weird for Dortmund the last few years with key players leaving, so whose to say Klopp isn't the next to go elsewhere.

 

[Uncle Si]

Klopp is a good shout to replace Wenger. Still, as I said, 4th is a trophy at Arsenal. Outside some supporters I dont think anyone at the club has a problem with Arsene or the team. Wenger can point to injuries, a ridiculous late fixture list and lack of available transfer funds to carry his case. To me, he leaves when he wants, or when they drop from the top 4 (which could happen I suppose this season).

As for the game with Stoke... Stoke never looked like carrying the three points, but they were the better side. I think the point being made is that while teams like Liverpool and Chelsea are taking three points from "bogey fixtures", Arsenal (and of late City) are really struggling. Unfortunately for Arsenal, they cant afford to drop points at Stoke with the fixtures they have coming up.

They are capable, so if they pull out 3 points at say Everton, then the title chase is back on. Failure to do that, and say Liverpool grabbing all 3 at United (seriously, who has the easier match their, Liverpool or Arsenal) then the vice gets tighter... not on Arsene, who is safe in my belief, but on the players, especially Giroud and Ozil, who have failed to produce form in the last month

 

[Uncle Si]

Yeah gate, I know you don't ever want to disparage any Arsenal players, but I'm gonna do it for you. Ozil and Giroud are not good enough. Arsenal have some real talent with the likes of Rosicky, Koscielny, Ramsey, Ox-Cham, Wilshire and possibly Walcott, but they are really being let down by Ozil and Giroud. Podolski needs to pull his weight also. Those are the things that really suck. I remember the season we brought in Robbie Keane alongside Torres. I think we had finished second the year before and the expectation was that Keane - who was prolific the previous few seasons - would push us over the top. He was shite. Morientes, Carroll, Downing, Cisse, the list goes on. Players that come in with huge expectations that fail to deliver.

Arsenal will be fine, I'm sure. They absolutely have to bring in at least two top-drawer striking talents this Summer, though, or it could be 10 years with no silverware, and for a team like Arsenal that's not good enough.

They brought Keane in the summer to help support a title run in 08-09 and then shipped him in the Winter to Spurs. We missed it by 4 points (I literally just relived the season through a youtube video.... Liverpool dropped points with two 0-0 draws with Stoke, gave up a point on a 90=2 minute goal with Spurs and ofcourse the Arshavin 4-4 game... United on the other hand took 6 points at the end with 3 goals from Macheda at the death against Villa and Sunderland). the next year we got off to a shite start and Raga was gone.

Kean

 

[UK_Seahawk]

You say Ozil is not good enough and then list Rosicky as "real talent", that's either trolling or being really stupid.

 

[Gatehawk]

I'm gonna say this plain and clear, we need Ramsey back soon. That's around the point where Ozil's form began to dip, when Ramsey went out with his injury. Oh and Ramsey could be back in time for the North London Derby.

And I'm starting to get sick and tired of people saying Giroud isn't good enough? Why is he not good enough? Cause he's not scoring as often as Sturridge and Suarez? Giroud has already bettered his goal total in the EPL from last season and he's 1 away from his overall goal total from last season.

By the way, Arsenal have just confirmed that Rosicky and Mertesacker have both signed new deals to remain at the club.

 

[Uncle Si]

I'm gonna say this plain and clear, we need Ramsey back soon. That's around the point where Ozil's form began to dip, when Ramsey went out with his injury. Oh and Ramsey could be back in time for the North London Derby.

And I'm starting to get sick and tired of people saying Giroud isn't good enough? Why is he not good enough? Cause he's not scoring as often as Sturridge and Suarez? Giroud has already bettered his goal total in the EPL from last season and he's 1 away from his overall goal total from last season.

By the way, Arsenal have just confirmed that Rosicky and Mertesacker have both signed new deals to remain at the club.

So you honestly think that Giroud is good enough to win Arsenal silverware? (Wenger must have, which is why he went after Suarez so hard) I guess we will see. He's one goal away from his total last season (in which you did not win silverware) and he has a 42 million pound midfielder widely acclaimed as the best distributor of the ball in the world (until 2 months ago) feeding him his chances. He's also behind 4 strikers (Suarez, Sturridge, Aguero and Remy) who have missed considerable time and barely above the likes of Lukaku and Jay Rodriguez.

Think on it, Gate. Peaches is right in asserting that Giroud's form has dipped. Maybe its connected to Ozil's dip in form (which you attribute to a dip in Ramsey's form/him being out.. i can see that). maybe its a dip in that Maxim model. But theirs a dip there. the group needs to steady themselves quite quickly or that North London Derby could be for the last CL spot

Noticed that Sagna did not sign his deal today... interesting.

 

[InSuarezWeTrust]

Giroud just doesn't pass the eye test for me. Too wasteful in front of the net.