Spurs gonna be scratching their heads after this one.
Yeah, we didnât have the luck today. We had the chances but couldnât convert them.
Considering we had 5 first teamers out and Ange seems to have fallen out with Dier (playing 4 full-backs !!), we played better than I feared.
As a team we are heading in the right direction and results will come when everyone is available again. Probably in the New Year now.
Entertaining to watch for the neutral, unlike the painfully boring stuff served up by our noisy squattersâŚ
Not so big Ange might have to rethink his principles after this 12 points dropped in 3 games.
Not even big Ange can drop 12 points in 3 games.
Though Arsenal did something similar last year when they bottled the leagueâŚ
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There is no doubt that Spurs are more entertaining to watch than Arsenal. They just canât afford to miss good chances like they did today.
From what Iâve seen, Arsenal still havenât played that well yet this season. That bodes well for them as theyâre top of the league and I think they have plenty more in the tank. Not enough to win the league though.
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Well he is triple winning Big Ange after all.
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Andy, you have to factor in the end of season bottling.
If the squatters are to win the league, they need to be 15 points clear at ChristmasâŚ
I believe for the first time in the past few years well since Liverpool won the League the Cheats are looking a bit more human.
Itâs only Liverpool or Arsenal who are capable of challenging them and if we both make some decent January signings there is a small chunk in that armour.
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The big surprise for me so far this season is that Luton are four points clear of the drop zone. I know Everton have had that 10-point deduction, but there are so many poor teams in the bottom half this year that the Hatters have a reasonable chance of staying up, and they will be buoyed by their first home PL win.
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Contender for individual goal of the season there.
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Definitely so Kev, I think we have now worked out how we need to play in the Premiership. We looked sadly adrift earlier in the season (even losing to Burnley ffs) but now look a bit more resilient and 1-1 against Liverpool and only a 1-0 defeat against Man U sort of prove that. We have a s**tstorm of really tough fixtures in December (Arsenal followed by Man City 5 days later and then Newcastle and Chelsea to see the year out) so come the end of December we might find ourselves back in the zone. Nice to hear some recognition on MOTD though.
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A moment of quality in an otherwise ordinary game.
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Iâm pretty confident Luon will stay up. We played Sheffield United last season in the cup and you had to laugh at the idea they were anywhere near the EPL. Burnley are suffering for several chinks in the approach of Kompany. The language of âlearningâ isnât matched by the reality and they desperately need some of the better players he found last season to come back. Seems unlikely.
Edwards at Luon is a good manager on several fronts. He can handle players, crowds, boards and has a subtle tactical facility that is massively unnoticed. A bit like OâNeill at Wolves but arguably maybe a tad better.
Everton instantly showing that my prediction about the impact of a points deduction is not going to be wrong. Was talking to one of their accountants the other week. Father of a teenage daughter who went to nursery with my lad and I see them periodically on buses around GM. Dyche is making all the right noises around the players but as a player you canât shut out the noise of seeing the drop in morale from others around you. Multiple people already left behind the scenes roles because of the uncertainty of what comes next. Itâs insidious. Theyâve been playing better and better as the season progresses and Dyche has handled the fitness of Calvert Lewin brilliantly. After a points deduction little of it matters.
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Sky award for the best goal ever⌠united
Atb
Kk
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Lovely cartoon from David Squires celebrating Terry Venables
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< rant : on >
What is happening with refereeing in the Premier League?
I am partisan because I am a Wolves supporter - born there and (distantly) related to Billy Wright - but last night was the latest in a string of travesties.
Two penalties which simply were not, abject cheating, and a should-have been sending off. Itâs not legitimate to dismiss this as just the run of the game, as this (otherwise independent) Match Report in the Guardian details:
âAlready this season Wolves have been on the wrong end of pivotal decisions against Manchester United, Luton, Newcastle and Sheffield United. Points have been lost and apologies have been handed out. Three referees have been demoted to the Championship after hurting Wolves with inexplicable blunders.â
Wolves have now, in the only possible way, overtaken Arsenal (who we play next) as the team to have received the most FA apologies for incorrect refereeing decisions or failures of VAR subsequently. But we are far from alone. And this season is really only weeks old.
Football is no longer about which team plays best, itâs now about which is on the receiving end of the fewest inept and/or corrupt refereeing/VAR decisions.
Gary OâNeill is doing a good job - considering the lack of funding - and it seems probable we will stay up - and mid-table is the best we can really hope for - so in the grand scheme of things it wonât make a difference. But it is not âthe best league in the worldâ when this kind of nonsense keeps on happening.
< rant : off >
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Itâs not the best league in the world, full stop. Itâs a triumph of marketing and Murdochâs millions.
And VAR is not fit for purpose. Iâm fine with goal-line (and related) technology, but until the ridiculous handball, penalty and offside laws are rationalised, VAR merely compounds existing problems.
While weâre at it, letâs empower referees to stamp down on dissent, diving and cheating.
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Nothing is happening. This is simply the natural consequence of the lack of independence of an organisation funded by the very people it ought to be independent of. Until that flaw is addressed, and letâs be clear that it never will be, then things will only get worse.
The EPL has never been interested in officials or fairness or accuracy. It exists solely to provide entertainment and make money. It wants flow. The only people who should be subject to punishment are those who might prevent flow or remove the best entertainers from the stage with something resembling a proper tackle.
Recognising this, the officials chose money and fame over fairness or accuracy and naively consented to VAR as a means to make such things even less prevalent. What itâs actually done is highlight the extent to which officials become deskilled the higher up they go.
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Just been reading that they may trial sin bins in top flight football.
Hopefully they wonât include âslothâ among those sins, otherwise Chelsea will be playing with only Conor Gallagher and a goalkeeper on the pitch.
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