English Premier League 2014-2015
- Thread starter .MASSHOLE.
- Start date
13073997:.MASSHOLE. said:
Again, it seems like Mathieu was the defender Enrique wanted more than any other, which is why Barca spent so much on him. I think it was more of a case of Enrique telling the board that this was the guy he wanted and them going out and getting him, then the board saying "here's the best we can do, you'll take what we can get you."
It does seem odd, considering his age, but I'm sure Enrique has his reasons for wanting Mathieu more than the others you've mentioned.
TheSteezyKoala
Member
13074060:802Valley said:
They're pretty terrible. Monaco's and Roma's are fantastic. They look great without sponsor logos.
City's Away and Chelsea's Third look pretty clean too
TheSteezyKoala
Member
13074230:fujarome said:
I hate Puma's skin tight jerseys. But the design is nice.
13073983:Watts said:
I don't think that analysis makes much sense. Chelsea got the most points against top 6 opposition out of everybody. They beat City twice, Arsenal twice and Liverpool twice. What they were poor at was when teams parked the bus against them. If they an find a way round that, that is the key to them winning the league.
fujarome:
on that topic the new Arsenal puma kits are looking extremely nice. Very happy with what they made.[/quote]
13074244:TheSteezyKoala said:
I live 30 seconds from Emirates stadium and I'm dreading seeing tens of thousands of overweight football fans cramming their rolls in to that strip and wobbling around the place.
.MASSHOLE.
Active member
13074399:Twig said:
Yeah, but they weren't particularly impressive in many of those games, relying more on their defense to win games then going out and taking it to the other team, which, if you're trying to go far in/win the champions league, isn't the best strategy. For the Prem, you're right, it works fine, but not so much in Europe.
bakedpow
Active member
13074456:Watts said:
Chelsea seemed to play more defensively against the top teams. It kind of says to the players "I don't think we can win with our talent, instead let's stay one and sit." Which is a fine strategy for a lowly team playing Chelsea or man city. But when Chelsea and man city play why play so defensively. Yes city is potent but you loose so much as fluidity and game play when you let the other team force it down your throat for 90 minutes.
bakedpow
Active member
13074698:Twig said:
i support arsenal as well. the first time we played liverpool it went well and we played and won, all those other games were after ramsey had gotten hurt, and you could tell something had broken with the team. they still tried to go out and play. mourinho has made it pretty predictable when he sits people back. but hey IF you win the league it's just strategy right? well he didnt win and i think that sit back mentality didnt help them when they got up against weaker sides who just gave them a taste of their own medicine. i dislike the strategy from an entertainment stand point but understand why one would use it, since it has become such an effective method if done correctly.
Black-Bandanna
Active member
13075619:Chunter said:
13075634:Fun_dip said:
Yeah it kind of fell to shambles after a while last year, but it was still fun. I'd be game for this season.
.MASSHOLE.
Active member
13075619:Chunter said:
Count me in. It did fall to shambles last year, but that was mostly because only a few actually played, and those who did stopped once they realized others fell off.
We could make a $5 entry or something via paypal and then winner collects all. Add incentive to keep up on it
.MASSHOLE.
Active member
Lukaku to Everton for a 5 year deal. Wow. Great signing by Everton. I wonder if they will be fighting for a top 4 spot in a year or two. Best two managers are now from Merseyside. Rodgers and Martinez.
13075705:Watts said:
There are some reports coming out:
http://www.itv.com/sport/football/a...aku-to-leave-chelsea-for-everton-in-18m-deal/
Not sure if it's a done deal but if it's 18m the Bill Kenwright is a genius.
.MASSHOLE.
Active member
13075708:Watts said:
I agree with this too. I guess we could try to institute some manner of a draft. Use tiny chat or something.
Chunter
Active member
13075684:.MASSHOLE. said:
I'd be down for $5, that should help people keep up with it.
13075701:.MASSHOLE. said:
Good for them and Lukaku. After watching Martinez all summer during the world cup I've really grown to like him and Everton are a super likeable team. I hope they do well this year.
13076082:Fun_dip said:
Yeah, fantastic piece of business for Everton, horrible for Chelsea. It's mind boggling that Chelsea have decided to keep Torres (for now), spend a bunch of money on Costa, sign Drogba, and let Lukaku go. They officially have: 1 striker who has been awful for Chelsea the last 3.5 years, 1 striker who played well for Chelsea 3 years ago and is now 36, and one striker who has had one elite season in his career and it wasn't in the epl, and let go of a 21 year old who has been scoring consistently in the epl for the last two years for teams below Chelsea's calibre. Makes absolutely no sense.
.MASSHOLE.
Active member
13076102:Watts said:
It is Mourinho's world unfortunately. He didn't like Lukaku and unfortunately put the team at a disadvantage by feeling that way.
TheSteezyKoala
Member
13076102:Watts said:
I'm obviously biased as a Chelsea fan but there's nothing they could really do to keep him. He obviously wants first team minutes which he won't get with Costa there. He wouldn't settle for second string and neither would Costa. Everyone keeps saying Costa will flop but imo he fits Chelsea's system very well and he is physical enough for the EPL. I don't think he will be top scorer but he will be top 3-5. I would like to have both of them, but neither would be content being second choice. Drogba is a good target man even with age, and Torres is good with build-up. I would be happy if Torres got sold for a better striker, but I doubt they would have been able to keep Lukaku unless Costa never came.
.MASSHOLE.
Active member
13076184:TheSteezyKoala said:
HAHAHAH Torres good with buildup? You mean like these? I am sorry, you are such a homer if you think even TORRES of all people is a quality striker these days.
TheSteezyKoala
Member
13076192:.MASSHOLE. said:HAHAHAH Torres good with buildup? You mean like these? I am sorry, you are such a homer if you think even TORRES of all people is a quality striker these days.
What does build-up play have anything to do with finishing/shitting himself in front of goal? He's definitely not a top level striker but he is decent in build up play.
Never said anything about him being a good finisher.
I think Chelsea has been brilliant this transfer window.
27m for Cesc
32m for Costa
15m for Luis =74m
They got 50m for Luiz and 28m for Lukaku. They gained 4 million while getting 3 very good players and losing a good striker and David fucking Luiz.
TheSteezyKoala
Member
13076200:TheSteezyKoala said:What does build-up play have anything to do with finishing/shitting himself in front of goal? He's definitely not a top level striker but he is decent in build up play.
Never said anything about him being a good finisher.
I think Chelsea has been brilliant this transfer window.
27m for Cesc
32m for Costa
15m for Luis =74m
They got 50m for Luiz and 28m for Lukaku. They gained 4 million while getting 3 very good players and losing a good striker and David fucking Luiz.
shit
.MASSHOLE.
Active member
13076200:TheSteezyKoala said:What does build-up play have anything to do with finishing/shitting himself in front of goal? He's definitely not a top level striker but he is decent in build up play.
Never said anything about him being a good finisher.
I think Chelsea has been brilliant this transfer window.
27m for Cesc
32m for Costa
15m for Luis =74m
They got 50m for Luiz and 28m for Lukaku. They gained 4 million while getting 3 very good players and losing a good striker and David fucking Luiz.
You are talking about a striker, he is playing as a striker, not a false 9. Who cares if he can build up the play, he was brought in to score, and when he is on the field, he is supposed to be the scorer. He cannot hold up the play like Giroud or Benzema, nor can he make dangerous runs anymore because no one respects his speed or skill.
I think Chelsea has had a brilliant transfer window in terms of finances, but think Cesc was unneeded, Costa was risky, and Luis was a brilliant signing to replace Ashley Cole. Selling Luiz was brilliant at the time as well because he would be LUCKY to fetch 20 million after that abysmal WC. Signing Drogba and letting Lukaku go was stupid.
TheSteezyKoala
Member
13076209:.MASSHOLE. said:
I can't argue that, he is shitty nowadays and they do need a good Costa replacement with Drogba's age but Lukaku would not stay on as a second string striker so I don't see what they could've done to try to keep him.
.MASSHOLE.
Active member
13076229:Bakerpow said:
It is SO tiny. I think its idiotic to be playing on those baseball fields. Imagine if a player injured himself....
13076184:TheSteezyKoala said:
Surely, with the number of games Chelsea will play this season, there easily could have been a way to keep both strikers happy with minutes? It's not like Costa will be starting every single game Chelsea play this season. If number of minutes is the reason Lukaku left, Chelsea still fucked up big time. All the best teams in the world have more than one quality striker, and manage to keep them happy.
.MASSHOLE.
Active member
13076235:Watts said:
Neither Madrid nor Barcelona did, but they didn't need two ;-).
But you do bring up a valid point. Especially if Costa reinjures himself.
Fun_dip
Active member
13076238:.MASSHOLE. said:
But they both had players that could play forward easily. Madrid had Benzema and Ronaldo. Barca had Messi(yes I know he's not a striker, but he was their center forward) and Sanchez/Neymar who could cover. Chelsea do have Schurrle who can play the center forward, but Mourinhi has shown reluctance to do so.
I honestly can't wait for the season the top 5 or so should be super competitive.
.MASSHOLE.
Active member
13076262:Fun_dip said:
I think the top 6 will be super competitive. Tottenham may actually perform, Everton can challenge, Man U should pick up the slack, Man City, Arsenal, Chelsea, and Liverpool should all be good as well.
.MASSHOLE.
Active member
13076267:.MASSHOLE. said:
God damn it. Top 7.
TheSteezyKoala
Member
13076235:Watts said:
Lukaku did only have one year on his contract so if he didn't get enough minutes he would be out the next year anyway. Drogba still isn't that bad. Schurrle and Cesc have both and can both play the false 9 role. But they do need a reliable strong number 2 I agree.
TheSteezyKoala
Member
Mourinho even said Lukaku would not be happy in a competitive situation and would want to be the first choice striker.http://www1.skysports.com/football/...reasons-behind-romelu-lukakus-move-to-everton
.MASSHOLE.
Active member
13076318:TheSteezyKoala said:
But neither scores goals and Drogba is 36. My fear for Chelsea, like last year, is that they will not be able to score goals in games that they should be able to once again.
13076293:Peter. said:
God is it painful to hear epl fans talk (type?) about soccer sometimes. Ask fans of any other league in Europe and I'm sure they'd be able to tell you who Bojan is without having to look it up. Or maybe you just haven't been following soccer for very long, in which case, fair enough.
13076318:TheSteezyKoala said:
Regardless, it seems like a stupid move to sacrifice Lukaku, who has scored more epl goals in the last two years than anyone bar RVP and Suarez, for Costa, who has only had one world class season in his career, and it wasn't even in the epl. I just don't understand why Chelsea would want Costa as their #1 badly enough to not only spend all that money on Costa, but also sell Lukaku in the process. I guess only time will tell if it was a good move by Jose, or a stupid one.