***Official*** English Football Season 2018-19

[Cabinet96]

Should be a really good season this. There were so many boring teams in the league last season but West Brom and Swansea going down and Wolves and Fulham coming up, two sides who actually look like they might like having the ball, makes a massive difference. Everton and West Ham will be a lot more interesting this season as well. Can question whether West Ham have made the necessary defensive improvements and debate just how good a manager Marco Silva actually is, but they're both going to have so much more attacking potential than they did under Moyes and Big Sam.

 

[Uppercut]

Wonder if he hit his peak and we got him on the way down. Which at 29 is possible. Maybe it's amplified by Mourinho who doesn't setup a team to play to his strengths.

Yeah it’s a bit of both, plus the rest of the team aren’t reading him at all.

Like, how many absolute disasterclasses do you take from a 29 year old when Martial is on the bench? I’d just drop him now, or maybe play him on the right for a bit.

 

[Niall]

Like, how many absolute disasterclasses do you take from a 29 year old when Martial is on the bench? I’d just drop him now, or maybe play him on the right for a bit.

Yeah this. Look at the current options for the right ffs.

 

[Johnners]

Simply Mo'vellous.

I think i'm already in love with Keita.

 

[flibbertyjibber]

Bring back Wenger

 

[Furball]

Aye, because Wenger's record against Guardiola was so stellar.

Picking Cech should probably be a sackable offence though.

 

[dontcloseyoureyes]

Ozil was absolutely abysmal

 

[Uppercut]

Yeah so bad.

I thought Citeh looked less distinctively Guardiola and more just like a generally good team than last year. Probably just because Silva and KDB were out.

 

[dontcloseyoureyes]

Starting both Ferna and Gundogan (who was also abysmal) isn't something I think we'll see too often.

Mahrez looks to have slotted in really nicely.

 

[andruid]

Yeah so bad.

I thought Citeh looked less distinctively Guardiola and more just like a generally good team than last year. Probably just because Silva and KDB were out.

Have to agree with you there. The important thing is that they outmuscled the team in front of them and closed out a routine victory to get their title defense off to a decent start. I expect they will heat up as the World Cup heroes round into form

 

[sledger]

Fortunately was undertaking a train journey for the entire match yesterday so I was not tempted to act on my temptations to watch.

 

[Uppercut]

Fortunately was undertaking a train journey for the entire match yesterday so I was not tempted to act on my temptations to watch.

I don't think it was as bad as the Arsenal fan consensus seems to be, though my expectations had been a lot lower. They weren't exactly dominated, like they were in March, they just used the ball very ineffectively and made lots of mistakes at the back. I get why Arsefans tried to be positive about him but Poundland David Luiz was painfully short of first-team standard.

 

[sledger]

I don't think it was as bad as the Arsenal fan consensus seems to be, though my expectations had been a lot lower. They weren't exactly dominated, like they were in March, they just used the ball very ineffectively and made lots of mistakes at the back. I get why Arsefans tried to be positive about him but Poundland David Luiz was painfully short of first-team standard.

Haha poor bloke. But yeah, seemed like an odd selection. I guess they just felt Torreira was short on being ready for such a big game.

But yeah, without having seen anything I assumed that the doom and gloom reactions were predictably OTT. Chelsea away next though which is usually a hateful fixture.

 

[Pratters]

Looking to follow a team which are quite average. Any suggestions?

 

[sledger]

Looking to follow a team which are quite average. Any suggestions?

India.

 

[Jarquis]

HAvent seen extended highlights but the general consensus seems to be that Guendouzi was actually really promising for a 19yo debutant in such a big game but did make a few errors.

 

[Uppercut]

did make a few errors.

This is putting it very, very kindly.

I reckon he's a perfectly good prospect, not sure anyone in history could have played CDM against City at 19. Really it's Emery's fault for picking him.

 

[Jarquis]

As I said, I haven’t watched highlights myself but am reiterating what the consensus is/was. Seemingly everybody struggled with the emphasis on playing out from the back, so besides that and other isolated mistakes I’m not sure what the issue(s) were. So feel free to impart some further insight.

That last sentence is complete nonsense though. What was he meant to do, pick one he believed would do worse? He was partnered with Xhaka too... which in theory ought to have helped but in practice very rarely seems to.

 

[Pratters]

India.

Last time I checked, that wasn't an English football club.

 

[Uppercut]

As I said, I haven’t watched highlights myself but am reiterating what the consensus is/was. Seemingly everybody struggled with the emphasis on playing out from the back, so besides that and other isolated mistakes I’m not sure what the issue(s) were. So feel free to impart some further insight.

That last sentence is complete nonsense though. What was he meant to do, pick one he believed would do worse? He was partnered with Xhaka too... which in theory ought to have helped but in practice very rarely seems to.

He wasn't good on the ball, but I don't think he struggled playing out from the back any more than the others did. The consensus was that they were wrong to try to play out, but I didn't agree with that at all. They struggled with it in the first half, but didn't give up too many chances to the press, and managed to get a genuine foothold in the game in the second half. Going long would have negated their own strengths.

He just didn't know what he was doing defensively. For the first goal he for some reason fully commits to covering Sterling's left, showing him on to his right foot into the middle of the goal. The second goal is scored in his zone and he's not even in the frame because he over-committed to a press at the other end. He also gifted Aguero a one-on-one with a Sunday League air-kick on the halfway line.

Playing CDM against a top-class team is mostly about discipline and defensive positional sense and he had none of either. Xhaka as a partner and the quality of opposition are fair qualifications, but he still played very badly. IMO anyway, I know it's not really the consensus, though I think a lot of City fans and neutrals agree.

I would say that Emery should have picked Torreira or Elneny. They might not have played especially well either, but the danger with throwing in a promising-but-not-ready young player like that is that you publicly humiliate them and destroy their confidence.