Premier League 2008/2009

[HBK-aholic]

I'm not trying to know more than the 'average fan'. This is from someone who watches the game and has no bias as I don't support a team. Unlike you, who is extremely biased due to your blind love for Manchester United.

And of course you can develop an opinion from the first game. The opinion could change, but it might stay the same. But look at the facts from the first games. Chelsea owned more than any other team. You'd be stupid not to look at the facts. Which is what you're doing.

 

[OIL]

I'll be bias towards United to a certain extent. But read what I posted earlier in this thread, I said United were crap in our first game. If we didn't play well I'll say it, I won't say 'Oh we played well really, just bad luck'.

 

[AFC1986]

We were awful today and Fulham deserved to beat us as our only decent shot was a header from Adebayor which hit the post. Van Persie needs to sort his free-kicks out as they are either hit with too much power and go miles over or they go straight into the wall. Hopefully Fabregas is back for the match with FC Twente on Wednesday as we need some creativity in midfield

 

[Lee]

Hargreaves, Ronaldo, Carrick, Giggs, Campbell, Saha, Manucho.. that's 7 off the top of my head. Plus Rooney isn't properly fit, just came back from a virus. And then Anderson, Nani and Tevez were all unavaliable for one reason or another. So that's 10 players we're missing. That is just insane, no wonder we drew the match. When any team loses 10 players they're going to feel the effects, which we did.

Just like the season before last where Newcastle had 7 fit senior players, played 4 reserves and drew 2-2 with Man U...If you're champions of Europe, your back up team should be able to beat a team that struggled to finish 12th last season, that in turn had a number of injuries, a player who had only had one training session with Newcastle, and in turn a few players who didn't get an opportunity in pre season due to injury, or having relatives die.

And now for a round up of yesterday's games...

Blackburn 1-1 Hull
Fulham 1-0 Arsenal
Liverpool 2-1 Middlesbrough
Newcastle 1-0 Bolton
Stoke 3-2 Aston Villa
Tottenham 1-2 Sunderland
West Brom 1-2 Everton

Liverpool; although I think they're looking a bit shaky.

Everton; I'm glad they won yesterday, if anything it tells you that buying in the summer is not really needed.

Spurs/Makems; If a game showed how summer spending can go it was this one; you have Spurs and the makems who have both spent loads this summer. Spurs have done what they usually do, they buy and fail to live up to their help. Makems have bought decent players and therefore are playing well, as much as I hate to admit it!

Newcastle; Well it was a hard slog yesterday, I Still think a few players would be welcome, as fitness/jail/injuries are picking up on us again. The defense is starting to look up and Spiderman is going to be a brilliant player!

Oh and well done Fulham!

 

[Jonny B]

Just like the season before last where Newcastle had 7 fit senior players, played 4 reserves and drew 2-2 with Man U...If you're champions of Europe, your back up team should be able to beat a team that struggled to finish 12th last season, that in turn had a number of injuries, a player who had only had one training session with Newcastle, and in turn a few players who didn't get an opportunity in pre season due to injury, or having relatives die.

Thats horse crap. Man Utd had two of their first team Midfielders/Forwards Fit...
No team in the Premier League has more than 8-9 Premiership class players in one position. If it were that many injuries spread out through the team in terms of position we probably could have covered it, but with only Scholes and Rooney (who was barely even fit) as our first team attacking players we were always going to struggle to score goals in the first game.

Our back up team (at least Midfield wise) was injured... not even Chelsea have the sort of depth to cover those sort of injuries with quality players and they have all the money in the world.

 

[Lee]

whereby Newcastle had one striker fit, Martins, who in turn was barely fit, he'd been in Niigeria for a month after the death of his mother. Injuries are never an excuse, we had out fair share. There's just a severe lack of anything from Man U fans that admit, yeah we were outclassed.

 

[Jonny B]

whereby Newcastle had one striker fit, Martins, who in turn was barely fit, he'd been in Niigeria for a month after the death of his mother. Injuries are never an excuse, we had out fair share. There's just a severe lack of anything from Man U fans that admit, yeah we were outclassed.

Who's saying we weren't out classed, we were... but at the end of the day if all those players had of been fit we would have had enough to win the game. The point I was making is that no team, none has the depth to cover the sort of injuries we have right now... we are going to struggle until a lot of those players are fit. You also cant discount the sheer influence Ronaldo has on the Man Utd team... I dont like to admit it but we are half the team without him as opposed to with him.

 

[Mitch3721]

Even though i am a fulham fan i do have a soft spot for spurs. Throughout the last couple of seasons they have entertained me a lot in the uefa cup and league, and it does upset me to see how badly they are doing this season. I cant put my finger on it, as I genuinely believe they have a squad that is up there in quality with the big 4, maybe just lacking the strike force. Maybe the hype for this coming season was too big, or maybe berbatovs transfer malarkey is putting them off, but they need to fix up and quickly.

Fulhams win against Arsenal was kind of bittersweet, in the way that although we got 3 points, we did look pretty average against an average arsenal side who played very badly. I dont think we will go down, but i dont think we will have quite the season that some people expect us to have. I said 13th before the season but im beginning to think maybe more like 15th or 16th.

I said chelsea before the season and still say it. Although it has only been two games they have shown that they have the right manager, players and set up to get it done. Im not taking anything away from man utd, who again will be right up there, but just as last season was close with man utd tweaking it, i believe that chelsea are gonna tweak it this year. And thats from a fulham fan with a severe hate for chelsea.

 

[Y 2 Jake]

KEVIN KEEGAN'S second reign at Newcastle ended today after less than eight months
The Toon boss has parted company with the club — only three league games into the new season.

It is unclear whether if Keegan was sacked or if he walked out on the Magpies.

I'll make the prediction that he resigned. He couldn't handle it a decade or so ago, why will he be ble to now? He resigned as England manager because he didn't think he was good enough. And I can't imagine bringing on Joey Barton would have helped. It was a pointless sub, he's probably getting a ban for a quarter of the season as it is.

 

[The Snake]

I'm close to melting point after the Keegan announcement, it is almost close to indescribable how annoyed I am, deflation just doesn't sum it up, we were close to having something good going, and everything has just gone wrong, not enough bodies in, and too many out.

Whether he walked or was sacked, the fans will always be on Keegan's side - It's a shame that the only man capable of filling the Messiah's boots has life-threatening cancer - That means the club is screwed. I don't even want to offer suggestions as to how this should be fixed - Because at this moment - There isnt one.

 

[AFC1986]

I saw the news on Setanta Sports News and I think it is stupid. The season is only 3 games old and I think they have treated Keegan with very little respect. Keegan is supposed to be annoyed that he wasn't able to bring more players in the transfer window and I can't blame him. I think Mike Ashley is picking the team which is stupid as that it the job of the manager

 

[The Snake]

I'm so relieved he hasn't gone, but so annoyed at the Media for blowing this all out of proportion, they call the fans fickle and the expections too high, but if the media didn't generate ludicrous stories then we would have half the troubles we have (for example, the WOW signing rumour). A lot was flying around about the Wise/Keegan divide so I wont be shocked to see Wise walking, 2 men who obviously can't work together it would seem.

I also heard a lot was said about Joey Barton and how Ashley wanted to sell, but Keegan said no - But then I think a bid was accepted and Barton rejected it himself to pay something back to the fans, it's a nice sentiment, if he weren't such a woeful human being I might have raised a smile over it.

 

[AFC1986]

That was a fantastic performance from us yesterday against Bolton and we fully deserved all 3 points. Arsenal are back on top of the Premiership table and that is where we belong. Hopefully United can draw against Chelsea and Spurs can lose again to cap a great weekend

 

[AFC1986]

We were shit today and Hull deserved to win. Our passing was poor, we kept trying to walk it into the goal and we got punished. Teams like Hull are teams we should be beating comfortably, not losing against them. We need to improve dramatically if we are going to challenge for the Premiership title

 

[Bozzaholic]

Sorry I've jumped to the last quote on the last page so I can have a good convo about footie....

We were shit today and Hull deserved to win. Our passing was poor, we kept trying to walk it into the goal and we got punished. Teams like Hull are teams we should be beating comfortably, not losing against them. We need to improve dramatically if we are going to challenge for the Premiership title

Even though Arsenal lost at the weekend you have to admit the way Wenger was after the game was commendable. Ferguesson and a few other would have tried to blame every factor but their team but not Wenger - he was quick to put the blame on his team and the team reacted with the european result in mid week.... ANYWAY

I'm a liverpool fan and things from the kop are pretty quiet at the moment Hick/Gillett/Parry/Benitez saga seems to have cooled esp. since we spenr 40mill on players in the summer.

Did anyone see the Joe Kinner press conference

Thoughts?

Personally i'd like to see newcastle succesd under Kinner simply because I loved the old wimbledon team (even if they beat us in the 88 cup final) and he is a passionate man. I think newcastle fans over-rate what Keagen did for newcastle... Other then come close to winning the league what did he ever do?

I'm loving spurs being bottom of the league at the moment mainly due to personal reasons but it makes me smile.

Bozz

PS nice to see Robbie Keane break his duck

 

[Sticky]

Good United win against WBA. (at least it will shut up my WBA fan friend, annoyed the hell out of me on Friday) I laughed when Ronaldo shot to the floor in a foul, just reacted to it stupidly and Berbatov still won't smile properly.

 

[Bozzaholic]

Berba looks like count dracula (although he is playing better then Keane at the moment). I gotta admit Dirk Kuyt is showing he is more then capable this season playing both as a striker and in the midfield. he has also bailed us out on more then one occasion this season

I'm glad Liverpool didn't buy Gareth Barry this season. We didn't need him - Alonso has an amazing passing range, Gerrard is... well Gerrard and we have players like Mascherano, Leiva & Benayoun who are not only great in the back up role but are showing that they can play well every week if needed

Elsewhere things are looking strange - Stoke beating Spurs (and screwing up an accamalter which looked set to send £120 my way), Hull beating west Ham (Although the win was at home and a slim score line which London teams must watch out for when going up there.

Looking at the table what is everyones thoughts towards the bottom three at the end of the season - mine are

Stoke
Fulham
Wigan

Bolton are a possibility but I see Spurs and Newcastle sorting themselves out which will be bloody annoying as i'd love to see Spurs get relegated

Bozz

 

[OIL]

Manchester United 2 - 0 West Ham

First half performance was fantastic from United. Our passing was crisp and getting close to our best. The movement was fantastic from everyone, and Nani is really starting to become consistent which is fantastic to see as he is a real class player.

The two goals really summed up our movement in the first half. The first was a good finish from Ronaldo into the bottom corner, and he finally celebrated his goal. Good to see. 2nd goal, all I can say is look at the skill from Berbatov. Out of this world.

2nd half we were poor. We seemed content with the 2 goal lead, and probably didn't deserve to score again. We were way too relaxed and just wanted to get through the match with little effort. Professional performance usually seen at the close end of the season, not now. Quite surprising really.

One comment, Rafael da Silva. Young right back. He is fucking class already. His energy on the pitch is unbelieveable and his skill is quality for his age. Look out for this guy. He will be world class.

 

[AFC1986]

Stoke 2 -1 Arsenal

Another crappy result for Arsenal. I feel that already we are out of the title race as we have already lost 3 games this season and we are quickly falling behind United, Chelsea and Liverpool.

We need to start beating stuggling teams otherwise we will carry on finishing seasons without any trophies

 

[Y 2 Jake]

Arsenal were awful. Even worse than Sunderland the other day. You look at the quality in Arsenal, then at Stoke and you really should be doing better.

Your title race is finished. You haven't lost against the other top three. You've lost to three teams that'll be towards the bottom in several months time.

 

[Luther_Hull]

I'm pretty impressed with the Premiership this season, I know were only 11 games in but its a lot more exciting than usual. The three promoted sides have all picked up big wins and I genuinely believe that this could be the first season in a long while where all three promoted sides stay in the league.

On the title race, honestly thought that Liverpool could do it this season but today's defeat shows that they'll no doubt tail off and end up getting either 3rd or 4th, along with Arsenal who have basically lost all chance of winning the title already, but then again their youth policy probably dictates they won't win the title for a long time.

 

[Y 2 Jake]

It's definitely more intresting that it usually is. I'm not saying that because Stoke are involved. But the division is usually a bit dull. Not football wise, just in the results. You get the odd upset, but this year there have already been planty. The best thing about last year was how shit Derby were, and the only real news all season was the poor Man Utd start and Kevin Keegan.

This year you've got Spurs starting shit, two promoted teams looking solid, Hull looking great, lots of teams looking like they'll have money problems, and I genuinely Newcastle will be down the bottom all season.

 

[Italian MVP]

Yer the this season has a lot of life in it compared to other years. Im really impressed by Hull. I know they will soon start to flop, but there showing a lot of fight and i like it. It was a shame they couldnt complete the comeback against Man United as I hate them with a passion and their just a cocky bunch. Glad Chelsea got a big win, 5-0 and Anelka got a hatrick which hopefully spurs him into action because he has been shit house this season, one of the worse strikers ive seen. Chelsea regain top spot and im happy, and Liverpool lose to bottom place, serves them right. Go Chelsea.

 

[Lee]

Personally i'd like to see newcastle succesd under Kinner simply because I loved the old wimbledon team (even if they beat us in the 88 cup final) and he is a passionate man. I think newcastle fans over-rate what Keagen did for newcastle... Other then come close to winning the league what did he ever do?

No one knows, Keegan is rather over rated here and it's annoying. Kinnear has done something at Newcastle that has been lacking for some time, and that's a fight and determination and is one of only a few people that could get away with losing to Sunderland. Two wins, two draws and a loss with the injuries we've had is pretty good.

Tonight I was very impressed as to be honest Newcastle were not playing well at all, but they managed to keep a clean sheet against a team that could have gone 3rd. A team who have been scoring for fun, a team doing well. Whilst we were bottom of the table, struggling and it had been a while since we kept a clean sheet.

It was good to have our left and right backs back, gelling with Taylor and Coloccini. Upfront Shola seems to have the passion, but not the skill, shame as he is a geordie lad and I know his family quite well. Martins was incredible today, an excitement that I've not seen in a player for the toon since wor al!

Well done lads.

 

[Spunky]

Kinnear brought fight and detirmination to the Forest squad as well, but was terrible in the transfer market for us, So god help Newcastle if Joe gets his hand on some money.

I'm really looking forward to the transfer window, Because Man City are trying to buy, Kaka, Santa Cruz, Aguero, Vagner love, And looking to bring in Appiah, And a couple of defensive players.