Premier League match discussion thread | 2014/15

Glen Miller wrote:

Scuba Steve wrote:Not a bad game to be on NBC.

Agreed.  It also helped having Arlo & Dixon shouting "this is a good match" every two minutes.

Scuba Steve wrote:

Glen Miller wrote:
Agreed.  It also helped having Arlo & Dixon shouting "this is a good match" every two minutes.

Arlo is fine when he isn't jacked up on Red Bull. Apparently he was this morning.

Zzonked wrote:I was feeling bad before the game so I got myself wired on loads of supplements and brain shit so as a result I was very attentive and analytical during the game. It's likely that no one cares and it is all wrong anyway but here is some of what I thought.

Mark Hughes set the team very similar to the way he did in the famous 3-2 v QPR. Stoke absolutely stacked the middle of the park, made 3 tight banks of 2 standing in front of each other. This made Jovetic very ineffective because all his little flicks and one twos were quickly cleared. It made passing through the middle in general impossible, which meant our tempo went to AIDs. The football was slow as fuck. It didn't help that Toure was a total passenger and didn't work at all. Fernando was good defensively but misplaced too many passes, Fernandinho came on and did exactly the same thing but with worse defense. Worst 3 players by far.

They were vulnerable out wide though and kind of invited pressure out there. Sagna looks good defensively, but he is nowhere near as good as Zabaleta at getting forward. If Zabaleta had played it probably would have made it a lot easier. Kolarov needed to do more. Navas came on and absolutely molested the right and side of the pitch for about 15 minutes before Hughes brought on a left sided player which made it a lot harder down that side.

Stoke strategy was obviously to sit back hard and then score from a set piece or a counter. It obviously worked and they were incisive about it. Almost exactly like the QPR game except better.

Diouf's goal is just AIDs. It isn't that spectacular, it's just a total shitfest of defending. It's like that one that Jermaine Beckford scored v Chelsea. The only minor bit of talent he had is strength in the beginning, but even then the first mistake is Kolarov not just full on rugby tackling him. Really brah, you gotta do those it's fucking obvious. Fernandinho then does the most HIV positive attempt at a one on one tackle I've ever seen, he basically just lets him take a big heavy touch and jog past. I actually thought it was Kompany at first and I was confused, because he may be bad in some areas, but not one on ones. Hart is then beat at his near post, but I'll only fault him slightly because these things happen sometimes. I would expect better, but not every time that's a save. 

I aint even mad tho, losing at this stage of the season never bothers me. Only hurts when it's in the middle/end.

Glen Miller wrote:

Scuba Steve wrote:

Arlo is fine when he isn't jacked up on Red Bull. Apparently he was this morning.

Yeah, he is one of those who I don't love, but I don't mind him either.  Dixon was clueless, it took him 30 minutes to admit that he was wrong about the offside decision for the second goal.

Theo Filippo wrote:Why is Can't not starting?

Glen Miller wrote:The most entertaining part of that half was watching Allen struggle to rugby tackle Lamela.

Dagbon wrote:I don't really like that the focus of this game seems to be getting Balotelli on the scoresheet rather than getting three points.

Scott_LFC wrote:Balotelli's work rate, though. Wow. People said he wouldn't press. Have that.

ResurrectionRooney wrote:Extremely soft penalty.