Soccer discussion thread

[DRWebs]

Thanks for clearing that up J

[nick]

ohhh thats fair. keeps everything fresh plus he doesnt have to worry about being thrown under the bus liek every great coach gets when they fall for a bit

[DRWebs]

Typical pitiful Arsenal pissing away another chance to take hold of the title race. First goal conceded was offside but then they don't press the player and a weak clearance followed by a goal of the year nominee. Second goal Mertesackers pace is to blame again and then Southampton player trips the Arsenal defender but isn't penalized and boom a second conceded. One of the poorer officiating performances this season but Arsenal on a whole played sloppily and looked hungover from the City win

It's almost like no one Premier League team can find consistent form and subsequently appears as if no team will take charge and run away with the title

[DRWebs]

3-0 to the Saints, fucking unbelievable... United lose by 2 to Stoke and Chelsea draw with Watford, all the fan bases pissy on Boxing day

[DRWebs]

Still find it unbelievable that City would consider sacking Pelligrini, Mark it here they will win the EPL again this year

[DRWebs]

Hell of a match between Newcastle and United which ended 3-3. United have some real quality depth issues and their defense is a mess. On a positive note for them, Depay still looks to be a future star even if he's been inconsistent in his first Premier League season

[jsence2]

Hell of a match between Newcastle and United which ended 3-3. United have some real quality depth issues and their defense is a mess. On a positive note for them, Depay still looks to be a future star even if he's been inconsistent in his first Premier League season

He hasn't been inconsistent--he simply hasn't gotten to play. Which makes no sense to anybody except LVG. Ugh

Meanwhile we have a LB at CB and a LW at LB. And we wonder why we couldn't defend...

[DRWebs]

Hell of a match between Newcastle and United which ended 3-3. United have some real quality depth issues and their defense is a mess. On a positive note for them, Depay still looks to be a future star even if he's been inconsistent in his first Premier League season

He hasn't been inconsistent--he simply hasn't gotten to play. Which makes no sense to anybody except LVG. Ugh

Meanwhile we have a LB at CB and a LW at LB. And we wonder why we couldn't defend...

Cant say their transfers over the past few years have been all that great, and especially weak as far as defenders

[jsence2]

Hell of a match between Newcastle and United which ended 3-3. United have some real quality depth issues and their defense is a mess. On a positive note for them, Depay still looks to be a future star even if he's been inconsistent in his first Premier League season

He hasn't been inconsistent--he simply hasn't gotten to play. Which makes no sense to anybody except LVG. Ugh

Meanwhile we have a LB at CB and a LW at LB. And we wonder why we couldn't defend...

Cant say their transfers over the past few years have been all that great, and especially weak as far as defenders

To be fair, Shaw was a terrific LB until he got hurt on that dirty tackle. He was having a great season. When it was him at LB and Blind at CB, they actually did quite well. Rojo has been hurt too.

[cdub21]

Hell of a match between Newcastle and United which ended 3-3. United have some real quality depth issues and their defense is a mess. On a positive note for them, Depay still looks to be a future star even if he's been inconsistent in his first Premier League season

He hasn't been inconsistent--he simply hasn't gotten to play. Which makes no sense to anybody except LVG. Ugh

Meanwhile we have a LB at CB and a LW at LB. And we wonder why we couldn't defend...

Cant say their transfers over the past few years have been all that great, and especially weak as far as defenders

To be fair, Shaw was a terrific LB until he got hurt on that dirty tackle. He was having a great season. When it was him at LB and Blind at CB, they actually did quite well. Rojo has been hurt too.

Yeah pretty unlucky. But Blind at CB is sketchy unless United is dominating possession. Theyve needed a cornerstone CB since Vidic and RIo went downhill. although Smalling has proven to be quality.

[DRWebs]

I liken Rojo to Gabriel for Arsenal as more of a 3rd centre back option who could grow into an everyday player in a year or two. I generally like Smalling but he's had his ups and downs in my opinion. Blind isn't a long term centre back although he's held his own all things considered. I'd consider him cover for Shaw. Right back seems to be a mess for United no matter how you look at it. So by my estimation they're deficient a starter at centre back, right back, and then a capable backup at right back as well. That just doesn't cut it when you have continuous Champions League aspirations.

Shaw, Martial, and Depay are absolutely brilliant building blocks for the future but they're lacking a little in top XI quality and then for sure in quality depth

[cdub21]

They all have individual talent, just cant put it together as a team. I like Darmian alot, Rojo has the talent(dude started for ARG), Scheinderlin is great, Hererra is pretty damn good, etc. Just a couple holes to be filled and some team cohesion could get them far. I mean even after this shitfest they are still in the hunt for the title, City and Arsenal can easily slip up

[DRWebs]

They all have individual talent, just cant put it together as a team. I like Darmian alot, Rojo has the talent(dude started for ARG), Scheinderlin is great, Hererra is pretty damn good, etc. Just a couple holes to be filled and some team cohesion could get them far. I mean even after this shitfest they are still in the hunt for the title, City and Arsenal can easily slip up

Forgot Schneiderlen who I wish would have came to Arsenal and dint recall Herreras age so yes there is some more talent to build from

[ReignOnU]

I've tried to stick by LvG and his decisions to work with the lineup, but it's maddening as a fan. Some of the chaos is caused by injuries (Shaw, Rojo, Darmian) and some of it I really don't have an explanation for (Depay and Herrera not playing consistently).

I believe that Darmian, Smalling, Rojo, and Shaw are a solid back for that could be built for the long haul. I'd like to see 1 more CB added, to give a different dimension than Rojo, then use Rojo as the universal back 4 sub. He can handle all 4 positions if needed. I don't want to see Blind on the back 4... ever. I really like Blind, I think he has a nice skillset, but I'm just not sure where he fits in. Offensively, I think he could become a very high level holding midfielder. Defensively, he seems to get lost in that position. Which I find odd because he's adept enough for LvG to consider starting him at LB/CB. It's as if all of the moving around is preventing him from really etching is role.

In midfield, I'd be perfectly fine if Carrick never played another game. Just tired of seeing him. Yes he can drop some sweet passes and help control tempo, but he's so slow and always seems to be "just out of position" defensively. The "Schmidfield" can handle that role just fine. Beyond that, get Herrera some time there to develop him. He's such a well-rounded player and I feel like we're wasting him.

Moving forward, Depay needs to be on the left and Martial needs to be up top.. every game. Every freakin' game. These 2 are the future of the franchise (not including incoming transfers). Stop this crap with Rooney up top. While he's been a bit better in the last few games, he has been driving me crazy through the 1st half of the year. Every time we play him in the 10 role, he starts pushing way up and causing a mess in the box. When we put him in the 9 spot, he thinks he's a holding mid and is on the other side of the pitch. I don't know what it is in his mentality, but it's like he's just set on doing exactly what he shouldn't be doing. On the right, I really don't know. The best combo I've seen is when Darmian is there and they play Mata. This let's Darmian push high up and Mata to settle in to more of a right attacking mid role. Darmian is pretty solid with his deliveries which lets this work the best. If they want to play a young player on the right, I'd like to see more of Andreas Pereira as a late game sub. On a side note, it would be great if AJ gets his head out of his tail and starts using his full ability. He's become an enigma.

As for the Afro... I'll continue to openly support him as a good piece to have on the team. I'm not overly thrilled with how much run he gets for the club, but having a guy like that is a nice weapon to have around. While he's obviously a liability with his wild play at times, he's also a major problem for other clubs to contain. When that is used properly, it's quite valuable.

With all that said, as long as we're trotting out Blind at CB, Young at LB and Carrick anywhere, we're going to be caught out of position and give up crap goals. I think it was Web that said it... there's definitely a depth issue and the injuries have really exposed it.

[Uuaww]

Villa finally won a game. give me 2 more of those and I will legit think this team can survive.

Much to Reign's dismay I think Leicester are gonna start fading now. May drop out of top 4 but who knows. No one other than city and arsenal actually look like they are top 4 quality.

[DRWebs]

Villa finally won a game. give me 2 more of those and I will legit think this team can survive.

Much to Reign's dismay I think Leicester are gonna start fading now. May drop out of top 4 but who knows. No one other than city and arsenal actually look like they are top 4 quality.

Haven't got to see them play much, but Tottenham numbers wise seem justifiably a top 4 squad

I agree on Leicester, it's a long and grueling season. I predict them to close out the year in 5th or 6th. And what happens if Mahrez or Vardy go down to injury, could be worse

[ReignOnU]

Villa finally won a game. give me 2 more of those and I will legit think this team can survive.

Much to Reign's dismay I think Leicester are gonna start fading now. May drop out of top 4 but who knows. No one other than city and arsenal actually look like they are top 4 quality.

Lie-chester can suck it.

[Seeitsaveit13]

Did I see that you guys loaned out Januzaj?

[DRWebs]

Did I see that you guys loaned out Januzaj?

Borussia Dortmund, not sure how much he's playing

[ReignOnU]

His loan was cancelled. He's back with United now.