Premier League

[IthacaMatt]

Okay, let's start a clean new thread about the Premier League season. It's only about 2 weeks until we get underway. One thing I hate about England is that the transfer window is open past the first couple weeks of the season. I guess it gives teams a chance to see what they've got and then address any shortcomings, but it makes for weird squad dynamics where a player may want away and he has games to play. Arsenal got killed by this a couple years ago, as did Spurs when Modric wanted to go to Real Madrid, and when Gareth Bale wanted away the year after that.

Coming into the season, I still like City as the favorites due to the depth of their squad. Just look at how Jovetic - their FOURTH striker - is killing it on this US tour. Damn, they are tough.

Chelsea still need a second striker behind Costa to really challenge for honors. Torres is not that guy, as his recent chest-over-the-bar from 2 yards away reminded us all again. *GROAN* I like Drogba is a siutational striker, and for his character, but I don't want to rely on him if Costa gets hurt.

Arsenal keep quietly adding quality pieces after their big splash for Alexis Sanchez and are looking better and better. And they have that monkey off their back since they won the FA Cup last May. So no more stories about that.

Liverpool is looking good in preseason. Maybe Sterling will turn into a 15 goal scorer to help Sturridge. He's looking good so far, but he's so small and slight. I am still not impressed by Liverpool's athleticism (or rather, lack of it) in the midfield, and Stevie G had another boner the other night that almost cost them against City. He and Henderson, as much as their fans may like them, are simply not the stuff of a championship squad, and Agger does not want to repeat as the 3rd central defender this year.

 

[IthacaMatt]

So, I saw the United game against Real and was pretty impressed. They still need a few players, but Van Gaal is already doing a great job. Liverpool seems to be getting better as these games have progressed. This should be a pretty hotly contested game for a pre-season friendly on Monday night. I think both teams would like to set a tone for the regular season by winning.

 

[ImperialOrange]

Curious to see what lineups are used tonight. Man U have been using stronger sides so VG can an idea what his squad looks like. Aside from that, players are trying to impress thus theyve impressed. Liverpool will be without Sturridge, Lallana, Flanagan and possibly Markovic.

Similar to the Man City match neither team wants to lose this match in a humiliating fashion. At the same time, both managers will play lineups mixed with younger/squad players to see how they perform.

IthacaMatt I realize you don't rate Emre Can but I think he's played well thus far. He gives us size and strength in the midfield which we sorely lacked last year. Aside from that, he's shown an astute ability to pick the smart pass and make runs when needed. Jordan Henderson is more skilled Dirk Kuyt. You won't see a lot of what he does show up on the stat sheet but his impact is immeasurable. The guy simply never stops running and has shown quite an improvement in timing his runs to aid in attack this preseason. He's still not the finished product but he is improving all the time.

 

[IthacaMatt]

Curious to see what lineups are used tonight. Man U have been using stronger sides so VG can an idea what his squad looks like. Aside from that, players are trying to impress thus theyve impressed. Liverpool will be without Sturridge, Lallana, Flanagan and possibly Markovic.

Similar to the Man City match neither team wants to lose this match in a humiliating fashion. At the same time, both managers will play lineups mixed with younger/squad players to see how they perform.

IthacaMatt I realize you don't rate Emre Can but I think he's played well thus far. He gives us size and strength in the midfield which we sorely lacked last year. Aside from that, he's shown an astute ability to pick the smart pass and make runs when needed. Jordan Henderson is more skilled Dirk Kuyt. You won't see a lot of what he does show up on the stat sheet but his impact is immeasurable. The guy simply never stops running and has shown quite an improvement in timing his runs to aid in attack this preseason. He's still not the finished product but he is improving all the time.

I have to be honest, I haven't seen enough of him yet. When I said I wasn't impressed with his acquisition, I have to say it was from a "not a big name" perspective. I'll be sure to keep an eye on him tonight.

 

[General20]

My guess is Can starts, and my guess is he impresses against Man U. Should be a fun game. Kind of like Syracuse and Georgetown playing an exhibition, there is too much hate to just be an exhibition.

Man U should be considered the favorite because as ImperialOrange pointed out, Van Gaal has been playing stronger sides than Rogers has this preseason. The way things stand now, I still think Liverpool is a much better team overall.

 

[ImperialOrange]

I have to be honest, I haven't seen enough of him yet. When I said I wasn't impressed with his acquisition, I have to say it was from a "not a big name" perspective. I'll be sure to keep an eye on him tonight.

I get that, and there is a fair amount of the LFC fanbase that are clamoring for a big name signing. It would be nice to have at least one this summer to hang our hat on but we are in the midst of a rebuild and numbers will likely do us better than big names at this point.

TBH I wasn't sure on that signing at first either but after seeing him line up and play with some our other guys he's slotted in well. Can is a pretty big, muscular player that moves well from what I've seen thus far. Last year we had a tendency to get bossed by bigger midfields, specifically when Sterling and Coutinho played at the same time. Think he'll fill a big need there and he can play anywhere from the back 4 through the central midfield.

Tonight will be a good chance to see if his speed will equate. Man U have been playing fast and we will likely be running backup LB and RB who have shown to be lacking in pace so our mids will need to help cover.

 

[ImperialOrange]

Man U should be considered the favorite because as ImperialOrange pointed out, Van Gaal has been playing stronger sides than Rogers has this preseason. The way things stand now, I still think Liverpool is a much better team overall.

I wouldn't be shocked if we rolled out a stronger line up. That said it'll likely be a half squad of starters first half, and the other half subbing on ~60 minutes.

Neither team will want to be embarrassed tonight similar to the Man City match but we didn't name that strong of a squad v City to start either. By my count we named 4 starters and 7 squad players in that one.

 

[General20]

I wouldn't be shocked if we rolled out a stronger line up. That said it'll likely be a half squad of starters first half, and the other half subbing on ~60 minutes.

Neither team will want to be embarrassed tonight similar to the Man City match but we didn't name that strong of a squad v City to start either. By my count we named 4 starters and 7 squad players in that one.

The other factor is Van Gaal is teaching his guys his preferred formation, so they are playing pretty similarly to how they will during the year. Rodgers likes to change up his formations and surprise his opponents so Liverpool looks more like NFL teams do in their pre-season where they go with only basic/vanilla plays.

I have feeling Liverpool is going to look much different during the season than they do now, especially if Rodgers gets the Spanish right and left backs he's rumored to. Those guys will allow Rodgers to play around with some different formations and strategies.

 

[ImperialOrange]

The other factor is Van Gaal is teaching his guys his preferred formation, so they are playing pretty similarly to how they will during the year. Rodgers likes to change up his formations and surprise his opponents so Liverpool looks more like NFL teams do in their pre-season where they go with only basic/vanilla plays.

I have feeling Liverpool is going to look much different during the season than they do now, especially if Rodgers gets the Spanish right and left backs he's rumored to. Those guys will allow Rodgers to play around with some different formations and strategies.

Manquillo is all but signed and delivered. Regardless though it's more youth infusion that don't appear to be finished products yet.

http://www.thisisanfield.com/2014/08/manquillo-medical-set-monday/

I think one of Liverpool's saving graces, especially when facing teams with bigger names, is the ability to change formations mid stream. With the versatility of most every player we've bought to play multiple spots, it only reinforces what we have been seeing with Hendo, Sterling, Coutinho, Allen, etc in being used in different capacitites. If Coutinho improves, and Markovic proves to have finishing ability we'll be a fun team to watch. We don't have issue creating openings but we need players to prove they can convert them. Sterling and Henderson look to have greatly improved there to go with Sturridge. Others stepping up will go a long way in how many goals we score this season.

 

[ImperialOrange]

Side note but how far have AC Milan fallen? They look like a shell of their former selves at this point.

 

[General20]

Side note but how far have AC Milan fallen? They look like a shell of their former selves at this point.

I actually hurts to watch AC Milan play. It seems like yesterday they were beating Liverpool in the Champions League final. They have really fallen off.

 

[ImperialOrange]

I actually hurts to watch AC Milan play. It seems like yesterday they were beating Liverpool in the Champions League final. They have really fallen off.

Finances are crushing that league. Looks like Juve and Roma will carry the torch for Seria A for the forseeable future.

 

[IthacaMatt]

Finances are crushing that league. Looks like Juve and Roma will carry the torch for Seria A for the forseeable future.

Well, it's up to the fans to show up for games. I see too many half-empty stadiums when I watch Serie A, and they must not generate the TV dollars of the other leagues.

 

[ImperialOrange]

Well, it's up to the fans to show up for games. I see too many half-empty stadiums when I watch Serie A, and they must not generate the TV dollars of the other leagues.

TV deal is about half of what the EPL makes which is by no means chump change. ~1.4 bil US vs the EPL @ 3 bil US per year.

 

[NailstheCusefan12]

Well, it's up to the fans to show up for games. I see too many half-empty stadiums when I watch Serie A, and they must not generate the TV dollars of the other leagues.

You watch Serie A games? My biggest problem is their style of play. Yawn.

 

[CanadianSU]

Side note but how far have AC Milan fallen? They look like a shell of their former selves at this point.

Once Shevchenko left that was it

 

[Bortukal]

Where do you guys look to for your EPL information on team news, reliable transfer info, etc. other than the Premier League site and individual team websites?

 

[ImperialOrange]

Where do you guys look to for your EPL information on team news, reliable transfer info, etc. other than the Premier League site and individual team websites?

Skysports. There Isnt really such a thing as reliable transfer info though, you just weed through all the rumors and eventually pick which sources seem to have a bit more merit. None are 100% but you'll start to see which are utter rubbish.

http://www1.skysports.com/transfer-centre/

I have the my team liverpool app and presume there is/are similar free apps for chelsea and the other big clubs. It skims all the stories involving liverpool from sites and then you can pick which sites go on the main page. I picked 5 out of the 20+ offerings. sky, guardian, echo, official liverpool news, and this is anfield which is the main blog site I use.

 

[IthacaMatt]

Where do you guys look to for your EPL information on team news, reliable transfer info, etc. other than the Premier League site and individual team websites?

espnfc.co.uk is very good. Their transfer news is updated live throughout the day. I also read newsnow.co.uk, a news and blog aggregator in England. More rumors, and international newspaper coverage.

 

[IHeartSUFball]

espnfc.co.uk is very good. Their transfer news is updated live throughout the day. I also read newsnow.co.uk, a news and blog aggregator in England. More rumors, and international newspaper coverage.

follow Chelsea and EPl hard but been getting into bundeligsa last few years werder bremen is my club. Last year on GOLtv before fox.

 

[General20]

Where do you guys look to for your EPL information on team news, reliable transfer info, etc. other than the Premier League site and individual team websites?

I like football365.com

 

[IthacaMatt]

Here is an article that diagrams the "two-deep" line-ups for the perceived top 4 Premier League sides. This is as of current signings, not including those that are projected (i.e. Liverpool's 2 hopeful fullbacks, Chelsea's need for a bona fide 2nd striker, etc.) I think you'll enjoy a look at this.

http://www.101greatgoals.com/blog/comparing-pl-squad-strength-arsenal-man-city-chelsea-liverpool/?

 

[ImperialOrange]

Here is an article that diagrams the "two-deep" line-ups for the perceived top 4 Premier League sides. This is as of current signings, not including those that are projected (i.e. Liverpool's 2 hopeful fullbacks, Chelsea's need for a bona fide 2nd striker, etc.) I think you'll enjoy a look at this.

http://www.101greatgoals.com/blog/comparing-pl-squad-strength-arsenal-man-city-chelsea-liverpool/?

Can't speak for the others but the Liverpool one is wrong on at least 3 obvious ones.

 

[IthacaMatt]

Can't speak for the others but the Liverpool one is wrong on at least 3 obvious ones.

I think they adjusted player placement (I believe one Liverpool fullback was placed in central defense, but I did hear that he can swing to that spot, for instance) to make it look as though they could field two full sides for each club.

 

[cmr27]

Where do you guys look to for your EPL information on team news, reliable transfer info, etc. other than the Premier League site and individual team websites?

bbc.co.uk does a great daily summary of Premier League gossip on its football web page. They link to the sources of the gossip, usually one of the papers or popular football websites. I start my daily sports reading there. As always, it's gossip but you'll find solid info as well. It's a great aggregator. In terms of serious writing about the sport, I think Henry Winter of the Telegraph writes the best game stories out there. He puts US sports writers to shame.