*Official* English Football Season 2013-14

[Cabinet96]

Why can't they take Rosicky off after an hour then?

Must say I'm not sold on Podolski at all. Hope he gets a go on the weekend, just so that we can get another look as to whether "he's got it".

 

[sledger]

I'm not especially sold on Podolski either, but he'd offer something different to the attack. Definitely has goals in him.

Re: Rosicky: Not a fan of picking players knowing they can only give you 60mins tbh.

Anyway, for anyone who hasn't seen this yet: BBC Sport - Joseph Minala: Lazio respond to false age claims of teenager

 

[Uppercut]

Arsenal's return to form will be dependent on them picking one of Podolski/Gnabry/Ox-Chamberlain in the majority of their Prem fixtures, and playing them in a wide role, I think.

Rosicky should only play centrally for mine, hasn't got the legs to get up and down the flanks repeatedly over 90 mins.

Lack of pace/directness probably the main contributing factor as to why they never looked threatening last night I'd say. Even on the counter attack they looked sluggish.

The other problem is that there just aren't very many goals in the team with Walcott and Ramsey out. There were some fairly similar performances earlier in the season when Ramsey scored a great goal and won you the game.

Podolski would probably solve that better than the other two. But you lose an awful lot of midfield work compared to Rosicky, and I'm inclined to think there's a reason why Wenger isn't even using him off the bench.

 

[Nate]

John Barnes was a good bloke fwiw. Has also put on a few.

 

[Ikki]

Yeah Liverpool are still vulnerable away from home, I mean they almost didn't beat Fulham.

The thing that people don't realise about our away form is that the first half of the season basically saw us go to all the top sides (bar United, if you can call them that) away from home. Of the 4 games we lost, 3 of them were to Arsenal, City and Chelsea.

Now, they're coming to Anfield and our away fixtures for the rest of the season are the lower placed teams. And frankly, we owned Fulham and the reason they scored 2 is because our defenders both had clangers. It wasn't because the team wasn't playing well, in a systematic sense.

 

[Pothas]

No I did realise that. Does not change the fact they are vulnerable, look at the last two away games. Going away to sides that are in desperate need of points is not going to be easy and of course it also means that thier home games are going to more difficult, not everybody is going to be as bad as Arsenal were. They are obviously playing well and should definetly get top 4 but I don't think they have any chance of winning the league,

 

[Ikki]

No I did realise that. Does not change the fact they are vulnerable, look at the last two away games. Going away to sides that are in desperate need of points is not going to be easy and of course it also means that thier home games are going to more difficult, not everybody is going to be as bad as Arsenal were. They are obviously playing well and should definetly get top 4 but I don't think they have any chance of winning the league,

I don't get it. We should have won both Fulham and WBA games. That we didn't in WBA's case was because of a howler. We were in control and WBA weren't a threat in the match. If we continue to play even at that level and simply cut out the suicidal mistakes, then we'll improve our away form significantly.

Having said that, it is a good point; towards the end of the season the more desperate teams trying to avoid relegation can be troublesome.

 

[Cabinet96]

FTR I've heard that Podolski has never completed 90 minutes for Arsenal. So I'm not sure that's the reason he should be instead of Rosicky.

Rosicky's biggest problem is he doesn't have a very good output in the final third and can actually lose the ball a lot there. But he seems to help Arsenal play well most of the time, and our best performances this season have come with him in the side.

 

[Pothas]

Really hope Bees actually get a game tomorrow, fixture congestion going to become a serious issue in the football league.

 

[Uppercut]

The thing that people don't realise about our away form is that the first half of the season basically saw us go to all the top sides (bar United, if you can call them that) away from home. Of the 4 games we lost, 3 of them were to Arsenal, City and Chelsea.

Now, they're coming to Anfield and our away fixtures for the rest of the season are the lower placed teams. And frankly, we owned Fulham and the reason they scored 2 is because our defenders both had clangers. It wasn't because the team wasn't playing well, in a systematic sense.

I think I read that Liverpool have made more individual errors leading to chances or goals than any other team. So it is sort of systematic. In the sense that it's been going on long enough that we can expect it continue.

 

[Uppercut]

FTR I've heard that Podolski has never completed 90 minutes for Arsenal. So I'm not sure that's the reason he should be instead of Rosicky.

Rosicky's biggest problem is he doesn't have a very good output in the final third and can actually lose the ball a lot there. But he seems to help Arsenal play well most of the time, and our best performances this season have come with him in the side.

Yeah he's great for the big games, gives you a real foothold in the game because he's so good in the middle third. But in games you expect to win you might want someone with more end product.

Sort of like with Welbeck, except unlike Moyes, Wenger tends to have a decent grasp of who to use and when.

 

[GIMH]

United fans, reckon you've had a bad season? Try being a Tranmere fan. Already been the worst season on and off the field of my 22 years following this ****ing club but now things take the worst turn

BBC Sport - Ronnie Moore: Tranmere boss under FA betting investigation

Feel so deflated by everything. Our future is so bleak. Just wrote this on Facebook which sums it all up

A young kid from the Wirral would see no attraction to us now, especially with Liverpool being so resurgent. There is no effort to win or even retain fans. Last year was such an opportunity. Just like after the 05 play off defeat, that was it and there was no investment for another push. The ball was dropped in 2001 when we went down, appointing Watson instead of a proven manager who could have taken us back up. We should have walked back up with the quality we had then, you could pick ten James Yeardsleys alongside Koumas at that point and have a chance. Since then we've had one proper crack at promotion and like you said Jon settled for existing the rest of the time. When we've been decent since, thinking 09 and last year, it's been a case of punching above our weight rather than the club as a whole making a concerted effort at promotion. Meanwhile, more and more clubs have been in the prem and the gulf that once existed between prem and championship now exists between championship and league one. Hard to believe I grew up with us being a top class championship side.

 

[GIMH]

Pothas's club the anti-Tranmere basically. If we'd finished the season last year as they did, the manager would have been told, that was your chance now were cutting the budget. Instead they showed faith and run the club so well that when Rosler left there was very little impact, at least that is obvious to an outsider.

****ing stupid ****ty sport

 

[superkingdave]

Oldham's story not a lot different to be honest mate

 

[Magrat Garlick]

Fulham sack Meulensteen, replace him with Magath. Must be going for Palermo's record.

 

[superkingdave]

And you are being a bit generous to Brentford, their owner has pumped in 20 mill or so in a couple of years

 

[Pothas]

I can’t believe the amount of **** you have had to put up with off the field this year, you don't deserve it.

I think all Brentford fans (well apart from a few lunatics) are quite aware about how lucky we are. About a decade ago we were not all that far from going out of business, really can’t believe how far we have come in a few years under Matthew Benham. Football really is so competitive all the way down the leagues nlow that you really need that sort of support he has given us, done it in such a sensible way as well.

 

[Pothas]

Fulham sack Meulensteen, replace him with Magath. Must be going for Palermo's record.

This one is mad. Thought Curbishley was all set to take over, what happens to him now?

 

[GIMH]

Oldham's story not a lot different to be honest mate

Yeah and aside from you guys going to the Prem and us falling short but we've followed very similar paths. Similar sized clubs facing the same challenges as well I guess.

 

[superkingdave]

Both had to endure Ronnie Moore as well.

Haven't seen you this year but can tell from the replies to your Facebook post he still plays awful football. We have played some decent stuff this year despite the results so the fans aren't as pessimistic