Barclay's Premier League '15-'16 discussion V6

Arsenal are so serioulsy nuts...I mean why should it be difficult for a team with so much attacking talent to get two goals to win it 2-1 or manage to do it 1-0 for once !

linetty wrote:Read Arsenal-Norwich was like a televised coma? Anyone can confirm? lol

More like gargling a bucket of diarrhea.

linetty wrote:Read Arsenal-Norwich was like a televised coma? Anyone can confirm? lol

Seems like me being happy for having four games on a Sunday just meant four equally boring games.

Lucky that the day provided such thrillers as Chievo 2-3 Udinese and Frosinone 3-2 Hellas Verona to be honest.

Spur's play amazing football for a Mule league team. Really good all over the pitch, in terms of playing the ball and trying to make combinations.

They have to really improve the defence though, both in quality and organsation. Too many miscommincations happening. Balls going over the top at the goalie leaving it for the CB, the CB thinks the goal should come. hesitation.

Ball over the top, CB leaves to other CB who is facing the best way to deal with it. That CB thinks the other one is closer to the ball so leaves it. Both leave it. Hesitation.

Who is right and wrong to leave the ball is irrelevant, they simply have to communicate better.

But that is a small negative. They play some really good football, I was pleasantly surprised.

Chelsea on the other hand are rubbish. Nothing with the ball as always. What is their style now? It cant be a proggressive side with the ball. But defensively, they are everywhere. The biggest problem I guess I have is what I noticed against PSG last year...they are physically unimposing. You dont expect that from Chelsea, but they are so physically weak compared to teams past. You see players moved off the ball so easily. Dembele out there looked like prime Yaya Toure, just knocking people all over the place and holding up balls.

William, Hazard, Cesc, Pedro and Oscar, all relative weaklings. Costa too busy falling over to use any physicality. Even the guys at the back are mostly softies, even the big guys like Zouma.

If Spurs can sort out their full back positions i think they can really grow into a valid team in the near future who can consistently push even for the title. Just look at the average age of that team, they are only going to get better from hereon and more importantly they have an English core.

I too am impressed by them. Pochettino is a really good coach in the making it looks like. Can see some big clubs going for him.

I'm assuming you haven't watched much Spurs this year Dani, I can assure you that the defensive miscommunications against Chelsea were an outlier for this year. Alderweireld and Vertonghen have made a great partnership. Toby has quietly been one of the signings of the season imo. Across all clubs.

They could push for the title this season really, especially with how disjointed it seems at the top. I still expect City to take it, but it seems like a year in which it's very open.

Not expecting it. Spurs are already playing a high press, high intensity style. That mixed in with EL which Poch is trying to challenge for and you wonder if Spurs can keep this up. I'm not sure. Not to mention injuries that may come from it that can make or break a season.

I think most Spurs fans would be happy with a legit challenge for top 4.

Tottenham are in the same position as us, get top-4 = successful season, don't get top-4 = meh.

They are very dependent on Eriksen and Kane, though. If Eriksen is out due to injury or fatigue, they have no one who plays his role. And if Kane is out can Son or N'Jie lead the line? Other than that they have decent quality and cover for every other position.

Disagree. They aren't as dependent on Eriksen as they are on Dembele, Alli and Dier this season. Those 3 have been their key players along with Kane. They can cope without Eriksen but not without those 3. Also Lamela is quietly having a very creative season.

But they are much better covered in those CM positions than in that AM spot. If one of Dembele, Alli or Dier is missing, Mason or Bentaleb can step in and probably do a decent job. But if Eriksen is out, I don't know who is supposed to do what he does.

Spurs are always really good until December, We keep forgetting this.

Curtinho wrote:They could push for the title this season really, especially with how disjointed it seems at the top. I still expect City to take it, but it seems like a year in which it's very open.

Please tell you're joking, they will be lucky to get 4th lol.

Southampton in that season started the usual top 6 and surrendered everything after they also were in good position like Leicester. So Leicester and Raneiri will need to come with something special to get them out of this period and still be around 3rd-4th position. I dont think they will be able to get many points from those difficult fixtures.

Seems like every season in the PL there's one surprise package in or just around the top 4 come December. Inevitably, those clubs always fall away as the schedule becomes more packed and their thinner squads come into play compared to the richer clubs. Call me a cynic, but I can't see Leicester bucking that trend.

Nishankly wrote:Spurs are always really good until December, We keep forgetting this.

They have at least £20m to use for a striker in December that they tried (and failed) to spend during the summer window. If well spent it could go a long way to helping them avoid the usual second-half malaise that affects clubs with smaller squads/fewer options.

They're much deeper this year than last year. If you think about their attack their first (and only) sub used to be Townsend, now it's Son, Dembele (who has turned out to be a surprisingly good winger) and Chadli. Much better.

CBarca wrote:I'm assuming you haven't watched much Spurs this year Dani, I can assure you that the defensive miscommunications against Chelsea were an outlier for this year. Alderweireld and Vertonghen have made a great partnership. Toby has quietly been one of the signings of the season imo. Across all clubs.

No, I havent. This was just the 3rd time.

BarrileteCosmico wrote:They're much deeper this year than last year. If you think about their attack their first (and only) sub used to be Townsend, now it's Son, Dembele (who has turned out to be a surprisingly good winger) and Chadli. Much better.

Their midfield depth is crap though, one injury to Ali and it's back to Mason every week and we all know how that went.

fellaini with an goal and two assists against Liverpool U21's

Fellaini picking on under age minors smh.

Gabriel Obertan is still a Newcastle United player. How?

You could ask that question about most of the squad tbh

But yeah he'll be off as soon as we can find a buyer, if not when ever his contract runs out.

Great Leader Sprucenuce wrote:

BarrileteCosmico wrote:They're much deeper this year than last year. If you think about their attack their first (and only) sub used to be Townsend, now it's Son, Dembele (who has turned out to be a surprisingly good winger) and Chadli. Much better.

Their midfield depth is crap though, one injury to Ali and it's back to Mason every week and we all know how that went.

Mason isn't as shite as I first made him out to be. I don't think he's great, but he's not bad. Alli is playing as part of the front three instead of Dembele recently anyway--where Spurs have depth (Lamela, Alli, and Eriksen are the starting three atm, that leaves out Son, Chadli, and Njie, and behind them Townsend...Dembele can fit in there as well).

If Dembele is injured, Alli can play CM, and once Bentaleb is not done being perma-injured, which I believe is soon, he'll be able to play in that spot and compete for a starting place. Mason would be behind Bentaleb, anyhow. So between the 2 CM's, there is Dembele, Alli, Bentaleb, Dier, and then Mason, then finally Carroll. Midfield options, assuming everyone is fit, are not a problem.

Now you might counter and say that of Bentaleb, Dier, Mason, and Alli, one of them will be playing as part of the 3 behind the striker, but that's assuming Chadli isn't playing--and he should be fit soon.

Of course, you cannot rely on everyone being fit, but tbh I think for once midfield options aren't bad for Tottenham. Tottenham are coping just fine right now and that's with Chadli and Bentaleb injured, and before last week it was Chadli, Bentaleb, Mason, and Son all injured. The only reason Mason made it into the Chelsea squad was Lamela's slight groin injury and Alli's suspension.

For me the only real worry is Dier being injured. He's been absolutely vital this season and Spurs have no proper DM to do the work that he's doing.

He's Colback level mate, he can come in every now and then and do a job but in the long term he just isn't good enough.

Just hope he doesn't have to, otherwise you are fine. The biggest change in Spurs is that now have a midfield which is direct and can actually control a football which is perfect for Kane's skillset.

Before it went nowhere fast because you had too many players recycling possession and not going anywhere with it and Kane was isolated. Amazing how simple football is when you don't over complicate matters.

https://twitter.com/barcastuff/status/671785704456896514

Delofeu scoring a cracker and commentator goes with "Deulofeu with true Premier League quality."

He meant it in a sense that the match was against a championship side.


Nice goal though