We Go Again! The Premier League thread

[Guest]

First topic message reminder :

that's the golden boot wrapped up

[Dolphin Ziggler]

Just how bad things have been in recent years for Sunderland is summed up by this:

4th favourite to be next manager sacked on SkyBet is "next permanent Sunderland manager"

[Guest]

Sterling has been what City need him to be. Fast option who will look to go in behind but is just as comfortable taking players on. Neat, tidy, young, English. they'll be happy so far

Hardly. Been hooked off twice now at half time & a city fan of mine has said he's been pretty poor & de bruyne light years ahead of him. Stats prove it too. even manuel is stating it

http://www.sportsmole.co.uk/football/man-city/news/manuel-pellegrini-explains-sterling-sub_250552.html#$$nvrfz6&&3MTWwmuQEeWakBJBhbMsDw$$

How on earth 'marky' you see world class potential in sterling is beyond me. WORLD CLASS......????

[Hammersmith harrier]

I would imagine that Man City see world class potential in him too or they wouldn't have spent such a large sum on him, despite being around a few years he's still very young and learning.

[Good Golly I'm Olly]

Kids only 20, so much time ahead of him. You watch him play at city and you can see his movement is improving already, becoming better at that part of the game. End product will come with maturity

Pretty unrealistic to expect him to go in and play at the same level as guys like Silva who is an established star

[Dolphin Ziggler]

Sterling has been what City need him to be. Fast option who will look to go in behind but is just as comfortable taking players on. Neat, tidy, young, English. they'll be happy so far

Hardly. Been hooked off twice now at half time & a city fan of mine has said he's been pretty poor & de bruyne light years ahead of him. Stats prove it too. even manuel is stating it

http://www.sportsmole.co.uk/football/man-city/news/manuel-pellegrini-explains-sterling-sub_250552.html#$$nvrfz6&&3MTWwmuQEeWakBJBhbMsDw$$

How on earth 'marky' you see world class potential in sterling is beyond me. WORLD CLASS......????

I love that that article opens with "poor" as a quote, and then at no point backs it up.

De Bruyne is 24 and on form. I don't think any City fans will be throwing the toys out yet with the side top. If this was 2 years in and all he was offering was this, I think they'd be annoyed. But hes finding his feet and doing a job.

At 20, with the start to his career he's had, there is potential to be world class. Thats all it is, and a lot dont make on their potential.

[Hero]

De Bruyne was the best player in Germany last year and cost £57m so to be in his shadow currently isn't that much of a disservice.

[Guest]

If Mourinho is deserving of the sack it is because of bringing Chelsea into disrepute for the nonsense he utters after the game.  Such as after the loss to Southamption when he claims that Falcao's blatant air dive was a penalty and he doesn't mention the stone wall penalties Southampton should have been given.  He will never solve Chelsea's current poor form if he blames it all on some conspiracy by FA officials.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/34449753

[GSC]

Manager: Player wasn't having good game, subbed him at half time

Headline: Manager says player was poor.

[GSC]

Guys stop picking on Liam.

[Nico the gman]

Little whisper on North east news is Brendan Rodgers or Big Sam for Sunderland.

[Good Golly I'm Olly]

Hoping they hire someone like Pearson so they go down for sure - get rid of this stain on the league that is Sunderland

[Marky]

The Sunderland blueprint is that the new manager will keep them up and leave sometime in Autumn 2016.

[Liam]

Rodgers will have a break for 2/3 months then take over at Newcastle when maclaren succumbs to the pressure come December time

[westisbest]

Pearson kept Leicester up.

May well do the same for Sunderland if he is to be their new manager.

[NickisBHAFC]

Yeah Pearson isn't a bad shout. Forgot about him.

[Guest]

Complete win/win for anyone taking the Sunderland job. They are so poor that relegation seems almost inevitable even at this early stage so no-one would be surprised if they went down. Keep them up and they'd be so delighted, you probably get you own branch of Gregg's named after you in the City Centre (probably something Big Sam would like)

Anyway, for Klopp to endear himself to me, one of his first duties (after taking of that stupid cap, having a shave and changing those paedo specs for something a bit nicer) would be to get rid of Lovren....I'm just saying!

[Soldier_Of_Fortune]

Interesting snipets from a recent Tony Barrett audio interview:

After finishing with the press, Brendan went to the dressing room & spoke to the players. Everything was very normal, none of the players or Brendan thought anything out of the ordinary would happen.It was when they got back to Melwood, Rodgers got the call from Mike Gordon who told him his services were no longer required. Apparently Rodgers took it well, given the surprise, he has to take a lot of credit for that. He went home (15 miles from Melwood) & was greeted by Ayre who met with him as well.The transfer committee was doomed to fail. thought it was a mistake for Rodgers to insist on not working with a DOF(Director Of Football). There was clashes immediately over Sturridge (club wanted him, Rodgers wanted Dempsey). Rodgers wanted Allen for 15m but the committee thought he was too expensive. Rodgers wanted one player, the committee wanted another. Rodgers' good faith in agreeing to signing Firmino (committee) was repaid by LFC meeting Benteke's clause. LFC have let 31 players out and 33 players in. The return on the pitch is the worst in the club's history. Rodgers had stopped believing in the committee and the committee in him. Sakho's contract renewal was for me the first sign that Rodgers's time was limited. Had Rodgers given the owners a list of top players to purchase, they would have been on his side. The problem is the committee didn't really deliver on their side of the bargain either. The club feel that if they get a manager who believes in the commitee signings & gives them a system to flourish in. Klopp looks like its going to be done. The new LFC manager will manage a club that needs shaking up. There are people at LFC who need a kick up the backside. The restrictions (resources/finances) will be similar to Germany. Mike Gordon (FSG president) is the one with the most hands on role. He'll be leading the chase for the new manager.This is an appointment where LFC have to get right because these opportunities don't come around often.
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I found this quite disturbing ...

[Alistair]

Dempsey over Sturridge?! Jesus.

[LivinginItaly]

To be honest it would seem that the main differences of opinion between Rogers and the transfer committee don't really provide evidence of Rogers being hampered by the said committee. Rather it seems that the committee had more footballing knowledge than Rodgers

[Soldier_Of_Fortune]

I think the TC lost faith in Rodgers after the awful first summer window.

And the fact he was trying to use Henderson as a makeweight for at the time 29 year old american should have rang some alarm bells.

[Hero]

I think KFC would do better in the transfer market than LFC.

[Soldier_Of_Fortune]

I think KFC would do better in the transfer market than LFC.

Man U havent exactly covered themselves in glory either

[Guest]

I think KFC would do better in the transfer market than LFC.

Man U havent exactly covered themselves in glory either

Not often I laugh with a Man U fan but I do agree on that one. Clint Dempsey....it could have been worse, it could have been Bobby Zamora or Mario Balotel...oh, wait a minute

[Alistair]

Anderson, Kleberson, Bebe, Bellion, Veron, Forlan, Poborsky, Cruyff, Prunier, Taibi, Djemba-Djemba, Tosic, Dong, Milne, Berbatov, Zaha.

Or

Koncheskey, Carroll, Balotelli, Aspas, Markovic, Lovren, Morientes, Downing, Cheyrou, Voronin, Diao, Keane, Aquilani, Diouf, Arphexad, Poulson, Dundee, Camara, Biscan.

[Good Golly I'm Olly]

Yeah this transfer committee approach seems like it saved Rodgers from himself for a little while longer....Dempsey over Sturridge sheesh

[Guest]

to be honest, at that time, dempsey over sturridge wasn't laughable at all. sturridge back then was a injury prone, trickster, who's actual return was pretty poor. we're talking 2012 here, dempsey was fulham player of the year, just banged 12 league goals in 2011 & then banged 17 league goals in 2012 - his reputation was very high, hence the move to spurs. brendan can be cut some slack for wanting a player who was delivering in the PL.

[Soldier_Of_Fortune]

In hindsight yes but STILL...........

Apparantly Coutinho was a TC purchase aswell.

[Guest]

In hindsight yes but STILL...........

proving my point

[Crimey]

I'd expect Rodgers will want to give managing in a different country a shot. 

I think Klopp will be a good appointment, but not sure what else he will do so different, he was good at Dortmund for a time but then struggled after their best players were sold.....sounds familiar? 

The main thing I hope he brings is positivity, this season a lot of the Liverpool players have simply looked a bit down, not enough spark or creativity which has led to stagnation. I'm not sure Rodgers had the faith in himself to bring Liverpool through a tough run any more. Klopp will hopefully bring some fresh positivity to the players. He's certainly got players with the energy to play his high pressing style with Ings, Henderson, Milner, Coutinho, Moreno etc all players physically and mentally capable of it. 

It will be very interesting to see how Klopp deals with the squad with four strikers to keep happy when he normally plays one up top. Sturridge is surely first choice but Danny Ings has been playing well and Benteke cost a lot of money and deserves a shot, so it will be interesting to see if Klopp changes his style from the one he had Dortmund to play to that, especially with the lack of wide players. Ancelotti seemed a more natural fit with the squad as he is a fan of the diamond formation.

[compelling and rich]

Anderson, Kleberson, Bebe, Bellion, Veron, Forlan, Poborsky, Cruyff, Prunier, Taibi, Djemba-Djemba, Tosic, Dong, Milne, Berbatov, Zaha.

Or

Koncheskey, Carroll, Balotelli, Aspas, Markovic, Lovren, Morientes, Downing, Cheyrou, Voronin, Diao, Keane, Aquilani, Diouf, Arphexad, Poulson, Dundee, Camara, Biscan.

Erm cantona, schmeichel, Irvin, Keane, Ronaldo, rvn, Rio, Rooney, Stam, evra, vidic, vds

Just to name a few, there's only Suarez who stands a chance in getting anywhere near a starting 11 of transfers. Possibly alonso but I'd still have Keane

[Nico the gman]

Hoping they hire someone like Pearson so they go down for sure - get rid of this stain on the league that is Sunderland

Pearson was our captain at Boro when Robson was in charge, and we got promoted, should he become Sunderland manager and take them down a statue should be erected outside the Riverside, hero status for super Nige.

[Dolphin Ziggler]

Not much point doing a transfers list when one has no recent transfers and the other does. Especially with Berbatov on it. If every flop was as successful as Berba then you'd see the most efficient transfer dealings in history.

[Guest]

get rid of this stain on the league that is Sunderland

not really the best person to be shouting that out, when you've been in the league five minutes & they've been here since 2007. if sunderland are a stain, what are norwich, because two years ago, your team was an absolute embarrassment in this league. norwich have hardly ever been 'easy on the eye' either, like sunderland.

Dempsey over Sturridge sheesh

again, very easy with hindisight. at the time, dempsey's reputation, performances & stats, were on another level to that of sturridge.

[Good Golly I'm Olly]

get rid of this stain on the league that is Sunderland

not really the best person to be shouting that out, when you've been in the league five minutes & they've been here since 2007. if sunderland are a stain, what are norwich, because two years ago, your team was an absolute embarrassment in this league. norwich have hardly ever been 'easy on the eye' either, like sunderland.

If we're going down the "can't make comments because of who you support route" not sure a west brom fan can be talking about other teams styles of play not being easy on the eye

[Hammersmith harrier]

I'm loving LiamB's new badge, it's a reminder to the rest of us that we don't know sh1t about football in particular our own teams.

[Fernando]

It's too big...something he's never heard

Sorry couldn't resist

[Hero]

It's fecking up my mobile view I know that

[Guest]

As expected, Jurgen Klopp agrees to become Liverpool manager on a three year deal

[NickisBHAFC]

Fantastic news. Delighted to see him in the premiership

[Marky]

Call me crazy, but I think Brendan Rodgers could become England manager next year if England have a poor Euro 2016 and Hodgson is let go. I know he's Northern Irish but he's got the approach to playing football the right way, can't mess up transfers at International level, has actually got a decent record of giving youth a chance, and has the ego to take on such a big job.

Jurgen Klopp I'm unsure about, he's the hipsters dream, but now he's going mainstream

[Duty281]

I think Brendan Rodgers is joint favourite with the bookmakers to be the next England manager- it wouldn't be a surprise!

Either him or Red Nev...

[Dolphin Ziggler]

Jurgen Klopp I'm unsure about, he's the hipsters dream, but now he's going mainstream

I'm already ready for Hero to come in next year and claim he was a big fan of Jurgen's early work before the media took notice.

[Jermaine2015]

Pretty surprised that Jurgen Klopp has risked his reputation and gambled on Liverpool. There are likely to be vacancies at FC Barcelona, FC Bayern and maybe Chelsea in the near future. But nonetheless I wish him well.

[Hero]

Jurgen Klopp I'm unsure about, he's the hipsters dream, but now he's going mainstream

I'm already ready for Hero to come in next year and claim he was a big fan of Jurgen's early work before the media took notice.

I've been a Klopp fan for years, absolutely love the bloke and am gutted he's going to Liverpool.

[Guest]

Brendan Rogers has had very little managerial experience to be considered for the England Job:

Watford: Nov 2008 - Jun 2009
Reading: Jun 2009 - Dec 2009
Swansea: Jul 2010 - Jun 2012
Liverpool: Jun 2012 - Oct 2015

[GSC]

Pretty surprised that Jurgen Klopp has risked his reputation and gambled on Liverpool. There are likely to be vacancies at FC Barcelona, FC Bayern and maybe Chelsea in the near future. But nonetheless I wish him well.

Could be fairly astute I guess. Immediate expectations are low, there's a fair amount of dollar to spend, and there's no Gerrard type players that dictate to a degree how the squad and team shapes up. Tbh I'm not convinced he'll be able to replicate his Dortmund success, a fair amount of stuff came together at the right time for Dortmund to be a success, but the right appointment for Liverpool right now.

[Marky]

I've pretty much decided on referring to him as "Klippety" throughout his tenure as Liverpool manager.

[Guest]

Pretty surprised that Jurgen Klopp has risked his reputation and gambled on Liverpool. There are likely to be vacancies at FC Barcelona, FC Bayern and maybe Chelsea in the near future. But nonetheless I wish him well.

Could be fairly astute I guess. Immediate expectations are low, there's a fair amount of dollar to spend, and there's no Gerrard type players that dictate to a degree how the squad and team shapes up. Tbh I'm not convinced he'll be able to replicate his Dortmund success, a fair amount of stuff came together at the right time for Dortmund to be a success, but the right appointment for Liverpool right now.

I think you can pretty much state 100% he won't be able to replicate that success. He's now managing in a complete different ball game. If you compare his success, are Liverpool going to achieve winning the league twice, win the f.a cup & be a champions league finalist, within the next 4-5 years? No chance. Over there it's Bayern or Dortmund, over here, it's not just Liverpool or Man U, it's Arsenal, Man City & Chelsea too.

I'd be amazed if he achieves a top 4 this year. I'd actually state this first season will define his longevity at the club. Fail to make top 4, the excitement & momentum of his arrival fades & the club remain in the doldrums, unable to bring top quality players to the club. On the other hand, if he gains a top 4, they're back in the champions league & players will want to join the Klopp turnaround. Huge season for Liverpool, for me.

[LivinginItaly]

Pretty surprised that Jurgen Klopp has risked his reputation and gambled on Liverpool. There are likely to be vacancies at FC Barcelona, FC Bayern and maybe Chelsea in the near future. But nonetheless I wish him well.

To be honest i think taking over one of the clubs mentioned above would be a much greater risk than the Liverpool job. This year Liverpool have been bang average, but so have many teams in a poor premier league. Here he has the opportunity to build something at Liverpool. He will be given more time than at the aforementioned clubs, with less immediate pressure, and enough money to make the objective of top 4 a possibility.

[LivinginItaly]

Liam just re-establishing Liverpool as a regular top four team would be a enough for me to constitute a successful period at Liverpool.

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