Premier League

[ImperialOrange]

You da man, General. Great post!

Your best bet Is to watch a few games and see which team does it for you. Coaches and owner can chage but find a fan base you like and a history you want to be part of. The big names historically are united, liverpool, chelsea and arsenal. City will be a top side until their owner tires of spending of financial fair play catches up to them. Spurs have invested quite a bit recently but can't quite break into the top 4 and will be the third team in london behind chelsea and arsenal. Everton could make a run at top 4 this season and would lock themselves In for a nice 5 year stretch if they do. If they fail to do so, they could well he picked apart in next summers transfer window.

City, chelsea, united, liverpool, arsenal and spurs are all buying clubs for the most part. Anyone outside that six and you have the prospective of having your favorite players sold during any transfer window.

 

[PeteCalvin]

Your best bet Is to watch a few games and see which team does it for you. Coaches and owner can chage but find a fan base you like and a history you want to be part of. The big names historically are united, liverpool, chelsea and arsenal. City will be a top side until their owner tires of spending of financial fair play catches up to them. Spurs have invested quite a bit recently but can't quite break into the top 4 and will be the third team in london behind chelsea and arsenal. Everton could make a run at top 4 this season and would lock themselves In for a nice 5 year stretch if they do. If they fail to do so, they could well he picked apart in next summers transfer window.

City, chelsea, united, liverpool, arsenal and spurs are all buying clubs for the most part. Anyone outside that six and you have the prospective of having your favorite players sold during any transfer window.

Which of these teams have notable US players? Howard plays for Everton, correct?

 

[General20]

Which of these teams have notable US players? Howard plays for Everton, correct?

Howard is the only US player on any of the top 6 teams, and he is aging, so I'm not sure that is a good basis for your decision.

I hear Tottenham is looking at Yedlin but he is young and not ready to play right away, if ever - US non-goalies have a way of disappointing when they get overseas (with Dempsey being the one notable exception).

Keep us posted on who you choose, and have fun, I think this is going to be a legendary year in the EPL!

 

[IthacaMatt]

Arsenal looked impressive against a partial-strength Man City squad yesterday in the Community Shield game. Another trophy (even though it's a glorified exhibition) must have the Gunners feeling pretty good about themselves. Arsenal's offense is flowing nicely. If their young midfielders can stay healthy, they are going to score a ton of goals this year. But unless they get a midfield destroyer type and another center back to replace Vermaelen, they are going to ship a lot of goals this year, too, and cannot realistically expect to win the league. Arense Wenger has done some good shopping early in this cycle, but he still has a couple deals to get done in the next 3 weeks.

City looked lacking in form and fitness so far. Yaya Toure strikes me as though his age is going to catch up with him a bit and he's not going to have such an incredible year in the goal scoring department. Another question is whether Aguero can stay healthy this year. With Jovetic playing so well in preseason, they have no need to rush Aguero back into service. This is where their depth will help them.

So far, Liverpool may be playing the best of the contenders, based on their preseason form, with United and Arsenal right behind them. Chelsea is not hitting their stride yet, and has a bad habit of starting slowly, conceding early goals. City is still missing half a dozen of their players who were in the World Cup. They may be vulnerable the first 2 or 3 games of the season, until they get everyone back and into form.

 

[General20]

Arsenal looked impressive against a partial-strength Man City squad yesterday in the Community Shield game. Another trophy (even though it's a glorified exhibition) must have the Gunners feeling pretty good about themselves. Arsenal's offense is flowing nicely. If their young midfielders can stay healthy, they are going to score a ton of goals this year. But unless they get a midfield destroyer type and another center back to replace Vermaelen, they are going to ship a lot of goals this year, too, and cannot realistically expect to win the league. Arense Wenger has done some good shopping early in this cycle, but he still has a couple deals to get done in the next 3 weeks.

City looked lacking in form and fitness so far. Yaya Toure strikes me as though his age is going to catch up with him a bit and he's not going to have such an incredible year in the goal scoring department. Another question is whether Aguero can stay healthy this year. With Jovetic playing so well in preseason, they have no need to rush Aguero back into service. This is where their depth will help them.

So far, Liverpool may be playing the best of the contenders, based on their preseason form, with United and Arsenal right behind them. Chelsea is not hitting their stride yet, and has a bad habit of starting slowly, conceding early goals. City is still missing half a dozen of their players who were in the World Cup. They may be vulnerable the first 2 or 3 games of the season, until they get everyone back and into form.

Yep, Liverpool plays Man City the second week of the season and I am hoping they can nick a cheap victory before City fully rounds into form.

There is a big difference though, between teams in regular season mode and teams in pre-season mode. Liverpool made Dortmond look like a bunch of amateurs because Liverpool wanted to compete like it was the regular season and Dortmond was still in preseason mode. If they played again in the champions league the game would look totally different.

Same with pretty much all of Man United's games in America. You look a lot better when you are competing to win and the other team is not.

I am sure Man City will look like a totally different team next week.

 

[ImperialOrange]

Tough to too excited about friendlies but Liverpool performed very well vs Dortmund. As noted, Dortmund was running a patchwork side vs Liverpool fielding a full squad for the first time. Liverpool did what they were supposed to. Had we run out our starters and struggled it'd be pins and needles at this point. Another thing that was positive was we looked superior in both halfs even after Dortmund made mass subs after half. No signs of running out of gas as we did vs United in Miami. The difference between a weeks rest and <48 hours rest there I presume plus running more than squad players.

New boys all seem to have settled well. Lovren looked assured in defense and organizing the rest of the D as well as grabbing a goal. Manquillo looked great as well which is a big boost. I was hoping for him to be serviceable but he looks to offer a bit more than that. Hopes are high as long as Sturridge stays healthy. We're a different team with him on the pitch.

 

[ImperialOrange]

As to Arsenal v City, I thought both teams brought out relatively strong sides. The fact that Arsenal won in the fashion they did is interesting. Same as every year, If Arsenal can stay healthy...

Curious if City will drop back a bit as well. I'm not sold on Hart in net at all so if they can't keep the ball mostly in oppositions half they could be vulnerable. Aside from Toure, majoirty of their midfielders are sprightly and I feel the league may be trending towards bigger, more physical mids like Toure.

 

[IthacaMatt]

As to Arsenal v City, I thought both teams brought out relatively strong sides. The fact that Arsenal won in the fashion they did is interesting. Same as every year, If Arsenal can stay healthy...

Curious if City will drop back a bit as well. I'm not sold on Hart in net at all so if they can't keep the ball mostly in oppositions half they could be vulnerable. Aside from Toure, majoirty of their midfielders are sprightly and I feel the league may be trending towards bigger, more physical mids like Toure.

Warren Barton has a saying about Arsenal topping the table early on: "They'll be coming down with the Christmas decorations." LOL

As for City, I'm not sure they're so small in midfield after Toure - Fernando and Fernandinho are both solid guys. Yes, Silva is a little twerp, but surprisingly tough and resilient. I think they seemed a little slow and out of sorts vs. the Gunners.

 

[IthacaMatt]

Drogba reportedly out 4 to 6 months with ankle injury. Geez, I hope not, that would be half the season. Although this could simply be a case of the Spanish newspaper Marca winding up Jose Mourinho again.

http://metro.co.uk/2014/08/11/didie...elseas-friendly-against-ferencvaros-4828951/?

 

[IthacaMatt]

Big news - "Men in Blazers", the duo who were so damn funny at the World Cup, have been signed by NBC Sports (away from ESPN) and will be doing their unique brand of comedy/commentary for Premier League broadcasts this season! Woo hoo! Those guys are great.

http://online.wsj.com/articles/men-in-blazers-jump-to-nbc-1407714244

 

[IthacaMatt]

Drogba reportedly out 4 to 6 months with ankle injury. Geez, I hope not, that would be half the season. Although this could simply be a case of the Spanish newspaper Marca winding up Jose Mourinho again.

http://metro.co.uk/2014/08/11/didie...elseas-friendly-against-ferencvaros-4828951/?

Chelsea apparently have bid around 10M for Loic Remy, who recently failed a Liverpool physical. Hmmm. If he's healthy, he's a great solution for #2 striker behind Costa. Quick darting runs, pretty good quality on the ball. Nice change of pace from the style of Costa or Drogba.

I get the sense that Chelsea's remaining budget is 40M, which they could pay for Cavani. However, it looks like they will split the funds to spend 30M to get Benatia at center back from Italy and 10M for Remy to cure their back-up striker problem. I can live with that. The squad will finally be complete for this season if those deals come to pass this week.

 

[General20]

Chelsea apparently have bid around 10M for Loic Remy, who recently failed a Liverpool physical. Hmmm. If he's healthy, he's a great solution for #2 striker behind Costa. Quick darting runs, pretty good quality on the ball. Nice change of pace from the style of Costa or Drogba.

I get the sense that Chelsea's remaining budget is 40M, which they could pay for Cavani. However, it looks like they will split the funds to spend 30M to get Benatia at center back from Italy and 10M for Remy to cure their back-up striker problem. I can live with that. The squad will finally be complete for this season if those deals come to pass this week.

Wow it will bum me out if Remy ends up at Chelsea. I liked him as an option for Liverpool because he would fit into their two striker diamond formation, or he could play out wide in a 4-3-3, which is exactly what Suarez did for us. And for only 8 Mil, he would have replaced half of the goals that Suarez scored, leaving Liverpool 67 Mil of that money to strengthen other positions.

 

[cmr27]

Chelsea CAN be fun to watch. They laid some goals on some of the top teams last year. Their key has been counterattacking football. They don't just "park the bus" and play overly defensive. They press high up the field looking for turnovers, to launch quick and deadly counters. This year with a clinical finisher up front, and the maturation of Schurrle and Hazard and Oscar, and the influx of leadership and creativity from Fabregas, they should be pretty entertaining to watch.

Plus, Chelsea has the best manager. Which always matters. He's also the most entertaining manager out there.

 

[cmr27]

I get the sense that Chelsea's remaining budget is 40M, which they could pay for Cavani. However, it looks like they will split the funds to spend 30M to get Benatia at center back from Italy and 10M for Remy to cure their back-up striker problem.

Chelsea can raise more money if needed. Courtois started the final friendly of the preseason. Cech would command top dollar on the open market now or in January. Ramires is another guy who has value and may not be playing as much.

 

[ImperialOrange]

Plus, Chelsea has the best manager. Which always matters. He's also the most entertaining manager out there.

The best manager wouldn't have led that talented roster to a 3rd place finish last year.

 

[cmr27]

The best manager wouldn't have led that talented roster to a 3rd place finish last year.

With that collection of strikers? He inherited nothing up front. That was the fatal flaw from day one. He was never comfortable with Mata (unfairly) or Luiz (fairly) and got rid of them as soon as possible. The roster is his now and Jose's track record speaks for itself. That said, I don't think CFC (or any other English side) should be favoured to win the CL this season. Barca and Real are too strong. But, it's reasonable to expect CFC to win the Premiership, or at least be there on the last day.

 

[IthacaMatt]

With that collection of strikers? He inherited nothing up front. That was the fatal flaw from day one. He was never comfortable with Mata (unfairly) or Luiz (fairly) and got rid of them as soon as possible. The roster is his now and Jose's track record speaks for itself. That said, I don't think CFC (or any other English side) should be favoured to win the CL this season. Barca and Real are too strong. But, it's reasonable to expect CFC to win the Premiership, or at least be there on the last day.

Barca is all attack and little defense. Messi is not going to have a good year. He is on the decline. I'll bet he spends a good portion of the season injured. Real is much better balanced but also has some uncertainty in goal, and some lunacy in the front office. Too many huge egos. They should win La Liga, but I'm not sure they repeat in the Champions League.

 

[IthacaMatt]

The best manager wouldn't have led that talented roster to a 3rd place finish last year.

Who is better, Rodgers? Bwahahaha!

 

[cmr27]

Who is better, Rodgers? Bwahahaha!

If Jose doesn't deliver this year or next, they should look at Rodgers or Martinez, presuming Everton delivers another season akin to the last one. Rodgers would be making a lateral move so long as Liverpool stays top four, though he'd have more money at his disposal and getting guys to come to SW7 London is not a tough sell. Hopefully, it doesn't come to that. Either CFC wins the league or Roman becomes more patient. It's so competitive this season. I've been following it for 20 years. This is as tough as it gets. Really worried about ManU. Van Gaal is definitely squared away.

 

[ImperialOrange]

With that collection of strikers? He inherited nothing up front. That was the fatal flaw from day one. He was never comfortable with Mata (unfairly) or Luiz (fairly) and got rid of them as soon as possible. The roster is his now and Jose's track record speaks for itself. That said, I don't think CFC (or any other English side) should be favoured to win the CL this season. Barca and Real are too strong. But, it's reasonable to expect CFC to win the Premiership, or at least be there on the last day.

The best manager would've worked it out with his best striker, even if he is a meat head, and not sent him away.

 

[ImperialOrange]

Who is better, Rodgers? Bwahahaha!

Last year? Yes. Unless you're going to try and tell me Liverpool had more talent on their roster than Chelsea?

 

[IthacaMatt]

The best manager would've worked it out with his best striker, even if he is a meat head, and not sent him away.

Wasn't Mourinho's fault. Lukaku came on as a late sub vs. Bayern in the Super Cup, and his lack of awareness helped concede the goal that permitted Bayern to tie (robbing Chelsea of what would have been an extraordinary win vs. Guardiola in his first game back). Then, Lukaku completely botched his chance at a penalty kick. Mourinho went out the next day and signed Eto'o, and Lukaku came to him and handed him a transfer request - a permanent transfer request. What a baby!!! A spoiled young kid who wanted to be guaranteed a first team position and not compete for it with the likes of Fernando Torres and Demba Ba. LOSER. Go play for a mid-table team.

 

[IthacaMatt]

Last year? Yes. Unless you're going to try and tell me Liverpool had more talent on their roster than Chelsea?

Yeah, Rodgers is such a great manager that he didn't realize playing for a draw against Chelsea would have won the title. I'm glad you're so high on him. He is great as a motivator, and he crafted a team that was a joy to watch. But without Suarez and with the rigors of European football this year, let's see how well he does. He also has a thing or three to learn about playing defense.

 

[ImperialOrange]

Wasn't Mourinho's fault. Lukaku came on as a late sub vs. Bayern in the Super Cup, and his lack of awareness helped concede the goal that permitted Bayern to tie (robbing Chelsea of what would have been an extraordinary win vs. Guardiola in his first game back). Then, Lukaku completely botched his chance at a penalty kick. Mourinho went out the next day and signed Eto'o, and Lukaku came to him and handed him a transfer request - a permanent transfer request. What a baby!!! A spoiled young kid who wanted to be guaranteed a first team position and not compete for it with the likes of Fernando Torres and Demba Ba. LOSER. Go play for a mid-table team.

Not the first or last time that will happen wiht any number of clubs. Tactically JM is superb if he has guys that play his system. His man management is a bit of ??? though. Wasn't only Lukaku he took issue with, also Hazard along with others in the past. I'm not knocking the guys track record, it's phemominal, but last year was far from a master work.

 

[IthacaMatt]

Not the first or last time that will happen wiht any number of clubs. Tactically JM is superb if he has guys that play his system. His man management is a bit of ??? though. Wasn't only Lukaku he took issue with, also Hazard along with others in the past. I'm not knocking the guys track record, it's phemominal, but last year was far from a master work.

Calling out Hazard was essential. Little punk was complaining about "negative football" when it was his defensive lapses that cost both goals in the Champions League semifinal loss to Atletico. He owned up to it later on. Good lesson, and very good for the dressing room. No one is above criticism with Mourinho in charge.