EPL 2016-2017 season, my view

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EPL 2016-2017 season, my view

Post by mastermind 17 »

This season is going to the be very closely contested and the race for the champions league will go to the wire. The winner may just be by goal difference or by one or two points.

Chelsea is currently setting the pace and may win it in the end. The Spurs game however highlighted Chelsea's weaknesses and Conte's tactical rigidity. Most people think it was just an off day, however I do not think that is just one bad game. Conte has been found out. He knows only one way of playing, just like Pep. If things do not go as planned he cannot change. Poch beat him at his game. He just had a better engine room than him. The best business done this last transfer window was the capture of Wanyama for a mere 11 million pounds. Wanyama is to me, one of the best CM in the game today. Last year, I mentioned than Kante is good but compared to Wanyama, I would pick Wanyama any day. Dembele hardly loses the ball, and his passing is crisp, compared to Matic This meant no supply to the usually dangerous Hazard and Costa. Tactical stalemate meant the guy with the best players for the system won. Chelsea need to dip in the pocket and buy one or two players this window

I am just glad that what I have always said about all these so called super coaches is becoming obvious now. I have always maintained that the Special One and the Suit-Man aka Pep are not good coaches, but rather decent motivators. Tactically they are very rigid and have benefited from the hard-work of LVG (@ Barcelona and Buyern), Ranieri at Chelsea and the likes. Mourinho and Guadiola now have to build winning teams in an environment where everyone has monies due the current TV deal. They have always gone to teams that were dominant in their leagues and had the best players. Now they have come to the premier league where the margin between teams is very minimal and the schedule is cruel.

Guardiola thought getting rid of sure hands in exchange for a goal keeper who is sure footed but clumsy handling was a solution is the EPL, where crosses and rough play that goes unpunished is the norm, was going to make him a winner. He is getting a rude awakening and tactically he is not as good as the Engineer was, so he will struggle for a while. He has always benefited from the brilliance of the players he inherited.

The Special One quickly learned that there is a way to win games these days….. direct power play and attacking with speed using good ball players rather than Stiffies like Fellaini. Tough tackling Jones and Rojo came to his rescue unlike the soft center of Blind. Pity he wants to sell some of our young players like he did with Du Bryune and co at Chelsea. At 22 yrs Depay should be loaned out to a premier league team rather than sold outright. Carrick is the best we have in his role and he needs to buy a good replacement soon.

Klopp and Poch are proving to be germs this year. The two coaches to me are some of the best in the business. The Kop was doing very well until Coutinho got injured and now the loss of Saido Mane and possibly Matip to AFCON. He will struggle to maintain form but has the right core of players. Poch is one genius and Levi is now in a possition to refuse to sell unless he gets a ridiculous offer. They are continuing to build a strong team of young players that is set to do well for the next few years. Prof Wenger is continuing with his shrewd business ways and risks losing Chamberlain, Sanches, Ozil and possibly Bellerin. Nothing new here. In the end he will flex his muscles to finish top 4 and thereby marketing the ones he wants to sell. After all that the fans will say Prof knows better

Everton are will struggle to make Europa if they sell any of their top players this window. Schneiderlin and Lookman may give them the necessary push to Europa. West Ham will make a late push for Europa as they have the players, but Billic is finding it tough. The Champions may not even make Europa as their squad is too thing to compete on many fronts. Mahrez may want to leave and the capture of Ndidi may not be enough. The coach needs to realize that Musa may actually compliment Vardy better and use him regularly. They need to sacrifice and bunk some of the competitions to focus on the league.

Southampton, Stoke, Crystal Pallace, Bournmouth, etc are just fighting to avoid being sucked into the relegation battle. Big Sam is just there to ensure the team does not relegate, but brings very little to no improvement whatsoever

Swansea are self-destructing, while Sunderland will lose Defoe and join Swansea to the Championship. Poor Moyes should resign, they advertised a rabbit only to package an old cat for him.... No investment no EPL next season. I do not think Boro are good enough to maintain status

The second half of the season, will bring the fatigue factor and most thin squads will be found wanting...
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Re: EPL 2016-2017 season, my view

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Swansea will not get relegated. The squad is too good. Hull will go down and now the perfect combination of Crystal Palace and Allardyce means that I WANT them to go down as well. The last spot - not Sunderland - me like Leicester to go down too.
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Re: EPL 2016-2017 season, my view

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Cristao II wrote:Swansea will not get relegated. The squad is too good. Hull will go down and now the perfect combination of Crystal Palace and Allardyce means that I WANT them to go down as well. The last spot - not Sunderland - me like Leicester to go down too.
We hope they stay up. Honestly at the rate they are firing coaches and hiring new ones. It will be difficult to stay up. They may spiral down like the likes of Leeds United, Blackpool, Sherfield Wednesday and The Tractor Boys. The Championship is not very forgiving if you can't keep players
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Re: EPL 2016-2017 season, my view

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mastermind 17 wrote:Chelsea is currently setting the pace and may win it in the end. The Spurs game however highlighted Chelsea's weaknesses and Conte's tactical rigidity. Most people think it was just an off day, however I do not think that is just one bad game. Conte has been found out. He knows only one way of playing, just like Pep. If things do not go as planned he cannot change. Poch beat him at his game. He just had a better engine room than him....
You've made some good points here tho I don't agree with all. No doubt the duo of Dembele + Wanyama have been better and more balanced than Kante + Matic. It won't happen this window, but perhaps if Conte can pick up Verrati this summer as rumored, Kante + Verrati will solve that situation (or the Monaco kid being recently linked this window, Bakayoko - tho not as established as Verrati). Ironically, I was thinking about the possibility of going 3-5-2, a formation that will accommodate fabregas plus two ball winners. It's what he played at Juve so it's possibly on the cards. Lastly, on the contrary, if there's any manager out of the top 6 who is NOT rigid, it's Conte for sure. If you have paid attention to CFC this season, you'd know that 343 came after the failure of 424 and 433. And as I mentioned previously, 352 is a possibility. He has uses 352 late in games to solidify his midfield with the introduction of chalobah, but he can tweak to accommodate fabregas from the onset if necessary.
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Re: EPL 2016-2017 season, my view

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mastermind 17 wrote:
Cristao II wrote:Swansea will not get relegated. The squad is too good. Hull will go down and now the perfect combination of Crystal Palace and Allardyce means that I WANT them to go down as well. The last spot - not Sunderland - me like Leicester to go down too.
We hope they stay up. Honestly at the rate they are firing coaches and hiring new ones. It will be difficult to stay up. They may spiral down like the likes of Leeds United, Blackpool, Sherfield Wednesday and The Tractor Boys. The Championship is not very forgiving if you can't keep players
Hiring Bradley was a mistake. Firing Monk was a mistake. It all depends on if the game played vs Crystal Palace was of Alan Curtis' tactics or Clement's. If it was Clement, look to them beating Arsenal in the next match. That side is dangerous now.
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Re: EPL 2016-2017 season, my view

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green4life wrote:
mastermind 17 wrote:Chelsea is currently setting the pace and may win it in the end. The Spurs game however highlighted Chelsea's weaknesses and Conte's tactical rigidity. Most people think it was just an off day, however I do not think that is just one bad game. Conte has been found out. He knows only one way of playing, just like Pep. If things do not go as planned he cannot change. Poch beat him at his game. He just had a better engine room than him....
You've made some good points here tho I don't agree with all. No doubt the duo of Dembele + Wanyama have been better and more balanced than Kante + Matic. It won't happen this window, but perhaps if Conte can pick up Verrati this summer as rumored, Kante + Verrati will solve that situation (or the Monaco kid being recently linked this window, Bakayoko - tho not as established as Verrati). Ironically, I was thinking about the possibility of going 3-5-2, a formation that will accommodate fabregas plus two ball winners. It's what he played at Juve so it's possibly on the cards. Lastly, on the contrary, if there's any manager out of the top 6 who is NOT rigid, it's Conte for sure. If you have paid attention to CFC this season, you'd know that 343 came after the failure of 424 and 433. And as I mentioned previously, 352 is a possibility. He has uses 352 late in games to solidify his midfield with the introduction of chalobah, but he can tweak to accommodate fabregas from the onset if necessary.
They made a mistake getting rid of Mikel. It was not for footballing reasons but because he chose to represent Nigeria at a period when a new coach was trying to build a team, and Conte never forgave him for that. Pity, we still have such coaches. Maybe your suggestions above will give him a solid core through the middle

The systems in bold, my brother, are a variation of the same system which does not address the way they have been conceding goals from crosses as teams start to go wide and exploit their narrow defense. Granted most managers are very rigid.
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Re: EPL 2016-2017 season, my view

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Cristao II wrote:
mastermind 17 wrote:
Cristao II wrote:Swansea will not get relegated. The squad is too good. Hull will go down and now the perfect combination of Crystal Palace and Allardyce means that I WANT them to go down as well. The last spot - not Sunderland - me like Leicester to go down too.
We hope they stay up. Honestly at the rate they are firing coaches and hiring new ones. It will be difficult to stay up. They may spiral down like the likes of Leeds United, Blackpool, Sherfield Wednesday and The Tractor Boys. The Championship is not very forgiving if you can't keep players
Hiring Bradley was a mistake. Firing Monk was a mistake. It all depends on if the game played vs Crystal Palace was of Alan Curtis' tactics or Clement's. If it was Clement, look to them beating Arsenal in the next match. That side is dangerous now.
Sir Cristao, I am more worried about the Swans today than i was before the FA cup weekend. West Ham are also not looking like they want to improve soon. The Everton manager is also throwing tantrums and wants more monies to further strengthen this window period. We will see who will come out of this window stronger
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Re: EPL 2016-2017 season, my view

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^^Alas the Freudian Slip...'should've played Mikel'. How one champions a midfield of Wanyama and Dembele, celebrates its overpowering of Kante and Matic, then concludes, should've played Mikel is somewhat laughable. As an admirer of Obi's block/tackling ability, there is absolutely no doubt, a pairing with with Ngolo or Nemanja would've faired far worse. Patriotism to one side, Obi is to slow to play a two-man midfield pressing game. Any suggestion contrary to that is just ridiculous. Obi is in China now and goodluck to him.

On the topic of Conte being found out, is it to be argued every week where results are anything other than maximal return, that X manager was found out? Was Klopp found out by Dyche. Was Peperende found out by Poch who himself wad found out by Mourinho who was found out Conte who was found out by the same Poch he had found out a month prior?...Games are won and lost. Conte has been astute enough to go against the wave of orthodoxy and endorse a system far from commonplace in the Premiership. In doing so, he has gotten the unthinkable out of Moses and a Pedro most would've thought was halfway out of the door.

As for Peperende, to claim his sole talent is motivational speaking is frank and arrant nonsense. Yes, he may have underestimated the opposition, but to question his innovation is far from the thinking of a mastermind. Pep's Barcelona changed the course of modern football, the followers and the antithesis.

Lastly, there is no such thing as being "too good to go down", Newcastle, Leeds, West Ham. Even the Boro side relegated many years back were half decent.
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Re: EPL 2016-2017 season, my view

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Coach wrote:^^Alas the Freudian Slip...'should've played Mikel'. How one champions a midfield of Wanyama and Dembele, celebrates its overpowering of Kante and Matic, then concludes, should've played Mikel is somewhat laughable. As an admirer of Obi's block/tackling ability, there is absolutely no doubt, a pairing with with Ngolo or Nemanja would've faired far worse. Patriotism to one side, Obi is to slow to play a two-man midfield pressing game. Any suggestion contrary to that is just ridiculous. Obi is in China now and goodluck to him.

On the topic of Conte being found out, is it to be argued every week where results are anything other than maximal return, that X manager was found out? Was Klopp found out by Dyche. Was Peperende found out by Poch who himself wad found out by Mourinho who was found out Conte who was found out by the same Poch he had found out a month prior?...Games are won and lost. Conte has been astute enough to go against the wave of orthodoxy and endorse a system far from commonplace in the Premiership. In doing so, he has gotten the unthinkable out of Moses and a Pedro most would've thought was halfway out of the door.

As for Peperende, to claim his sole talent is motivational speaking is frank and arrant nonsense. Yes, he may have underestimated the opposition, but to question his innovation is far from the thinking of a mastermind. Pep's Barcelona changed the course of modern football, the followers and the antithesis.

Lastly, there is no such thing as being "too good to go down", Newcastle, Leeds, West Ham. Even the Boro side relegated many years back were half decent.
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Re: EPL 2016-2017 season, my view

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Coach wrote:^^Alas the Freudian Slip...'should've played Mikel'. How one champions a midfield of Wanyama and Dembele, celebrates its overpowering of Kante and Matic, then concludes, should've played Mikel is somewhat laughable. As an admirer of Obi's block/tackling ability, there is absolutely no doubt, a pairing with with Ngolo or Nemanja would've faired far worse. Patriotism to one side, Obi is to slow to play a two-man midfield pressing game. Any suggestion contrary to that is just ridiculous. Obi is in China now and goodluck to him.

On the topic of Conte being found out, is it to be argued every week where results are anything other than maximal return, that X manager was found out? Was Klopp found out by Dyche. Was Peperende found out by Poch who himself wad found out by Mourinho who was found out Conte who was found out by the same Poch he had found out a month prior?...Games are won and lost. Conte has been astute enough to go against the wave of orthodoxy and endorse a system far from commonplace in the Premiership. In doing so, he has gotten the unthinkable out of Moses and a Pedro most would've thought was halfway out of the door.

As for Peperende, to claim his sole talent is motivational speaking is frank and arrant nonsense. Yes, he may have underestimated the opposition, but to question his innovation is far from the thinking of a mastermind. Pep's Barcelona changed the course of modern football, the followers and the antithesis.

Lastly, there is no such thing as being "too good to go down", Newcastle, Leeds, West Ham. Even the Boro side relegated many years back were half decent.
First of all, I am not human kind's gift for wisdom. All I wanted to highlight was just that no-one is unbeatable contrary to what some forumers have been posting here. Hence the statement 'Conte has been found out'. He may out smart others on a given day, but someone found a way of beating him.

You seem to be against me making assumptions, yet you use the same to suggest a middlefied with Obi would have faired much worse.....ain't that also laughable. Remember the same Mikel was benched in favor of Matic by Mourinho at the beginning of last season and Chelsea was stuck in the relegation battle. A new coach came and restored Mikel to the team and they ended up in a much better position....concidence? maybe, but that is a fact. The game against Spurs was not a pressing-game on the Chelsea side, it was pedestrian and they lost most of the balls they won, with Matic recording a mere 28% pass completion on that game. And again, I never said Mikel would have faired better, but just mentioned that they may regret not keeping him. For the record, I am not Nigerian, so I do not care much about Mikel's nationality, or where he plays. Just a football fan

I also never claimed his (Conte) sole role was motivational, but rather he was more motivational than tactical. As a coach, you would have picked the difference here. Yet you claim he underestimated the opponent, which is nonsense in itself as he played the same way he always plays and picked what he thought was his best team for the game. However he failed to change when things were not going his way.

Please look at Barcelona's team make-up and system/style of play before Pep took over and then apportion credit per contribution not just to Pep
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Re: EPL 2016-2017 season, my view

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Looks the English teams are looking to strengthen this window. Will Liverpool secure more wingers? Will Man United, Chelsea and City secure middle fielders they need to solidify in that area? Does l'pool have enough defensive cover?

Berahino needs to just secure a move from WBA. They seem hell bent on destroying his carrier.
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Re: EPL 2016-2017 season, my view

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mastermind 17 wrote:Looks the English teams are looking to strengthen this window. Will Liverpool secure more wingers? Will Man United, Chelsea and City secure middle fielders they need to solidify in that area? Does l'pool have enough defensive cover?

Berahino needs to just secure a move from WBA. They seem hell bent on destroying his carrier.
So looking at your view for t he season.Which teams you think are in title race and will stay till April in it?
Which teams you think in the top 6 will miss out in the top 4th finish?
This month will be one interesting on with games involve the big boys and the table position changing
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Re: EPL 2016-2017 season, my view

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kajifu wrote:
mastermind 17 wrote:Looks the English teams are looking to strengthen this window. Will Liverpool secure more wingers? Will Man United, Chelsea and City secure middle fielders they need to solidify in that area? Does l'pool have enough defensive cover?

Berahino needs to just secure a move from WBA. They seem hell bent on destroying his carrier.
So looking at your view for t he season.Which teams you think are in title race and will stay till April in it?
Which teams you think in the top 6 will miss out in the top 4th finish?
This month will be one interesting on with games involve the big boys and the table position changing
@ Kajifu, I am not going to put my head on the block my brother. This is a more difficult league than seasons before. The margin between the top 6 teams is very minimal. As for Man United and Liverpool, this weekend will be a big one but far from a decider on who would not make top 4
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Re: EPL 2016-2017 season, my view

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mastermind 17 wrote:
Coach wrote:^^Alas the Freudian Slip...'should've played Mikel'. How one champions a midfield of Wanyama and Dembele, celebrates its overpowering of Kante and Matic, then concludes, should've played Mikel is somewhat laughable. As an admirer of Obi's block/tackling ability, there is absolutely no doubt, a pairing with with Ngolo or Nemanja would've faired far worse. Patriotism to one side, Obi is to slow to play a two-man midfield pressing game. Any suggestion contrary to that is just ridiculous. Obi is in China now and goodluck to him.

On the topic of Conte being found out, is it to be argued every week where results are anything other than maximal return, that X manager was found out? Was Klopp found out by Dyche. Was Peperende found out by Poch who himself wad found out by Mourinho who was found out Conte who was found out by the same Poch he had found out a month prior?...Games are won and lost. Conte has been astute enough to go against the wave of orthodoxy and endorse a system far from commonplace in the Premiership. In doing so, he has gotten the unthinkable out of Moses and a Pedro most would've thought was halfway out of the door.

As for Peperende, to claim his sole talent is motivational speaking is frank and arrant nonsense. Yes, he may have underestimated the opposition, but to question his innovation is far from the thinking of a mastermind. Pep's Barcelona changed the course of modern football, the followers and the antithesis.

Lastly, there is no such thing as being "too good to go down", Newcastle, Leeds, West Ham. Even the Boro side relegated many years back were half decent.
First of all, I am not human kind's gift for wisdom. All I wanted to highlight was just that no-one is unbeatable contrary to what some forumers have been posting here. Hence the statement 'Conte has been found out'. He may out smart others on a given day, but someone found a way of beating him.

You seem to be against me making assumptions, yet you use the same to suggest a middlefied with Obi would have faired much worse.....ain't that also laughable. Remember the same Mikel was benched in favor of Matic by Mourinho at the beginning of last season and Chelsea was stuck in the relegation battle. A new coach came and restored Mikel to the team and they ended up in a much better position....concidence? maybe, but that is a fact. The game against Spurs was not a pressing-game on the Chelsea side, it was pedestrian and they lost most of the balls they won, with Matic recording a mere 28% pass completion on that game. And again, I never said Mikel would have faired better, but just mentioned that they may regret not keeping him. For the record, I am not Nigerian, so I do not care much about Mikel's nationality, or where he plays. Just a football fan

I also never claimed his (Conte) sole role was motivational, but rather he was more motivational than tactical. As a coach, you would have picked the difference here. Yet you claim he underestimated the opponent, which is nonsense in itself as he played the same way he always plays and picked what he thought was his best team for the game. However he failed to change when things were not going his way.

Please look at Barcelona's team make-up and system/style of play before Pep took over and then apportion credit per contribution not just to Pep
Conveniently left out the trophy winning season...dude..last season was an anomaly...and there was more going on behind the scenes contributing to the demise of that season that meets the eye...google your research back to Jose's dossier presentation for transfer targets back in April when we were going to win the league...
U win 13 and then lose one and allofasudden U been found out? smh...btw 352 is not a variation of the 343...which is not a variation of the 4231...fyi with a 352 we'd be a bit more creative with Fabregas playing the Pirlo role from deep with laser beams to Costa while further blocking the middle that was overcrowded by Spurs..so my guy..it came down to personnelle and numbers in that regard, not just tactics
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Re: EPL 2016-2017 season, my view

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Conte is a great coach and it is his time to shine. About Mikel methinks that Conte has seen much better version in Paul Pogba. Mikel at 29 was a liability with his speed in any Conte formation.
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Re: EPL 2016-2017 season, my view

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kali wrote:Conte is a great coach and it is his time to shine. About Mikel methinks that Conte has seen much better version in Paul Pogba. Mikel at 29 was a liability with his speed in any Conte formation.
Was Pirlo fast?
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Re: EPL 2016-2017 season, my view

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paj wrote:
mastermind 17 wrote:
Coach wrote:^^Alas the Freudian Slip...'should've played Mikel'. How one champions a midfield of Wanyama and Dembele, celebrates its overpowering of Kante and Matic, then concludes, should've played Mikel is somewhat laughable. As an admirer of Obi's block/tackling ability, there is absolutely no doubt, a pairing with with Ngolo or Nemanja would've faired far worse. Patriotism to one side, Obi is to slow to play a two-man midfield pressing game. Any suggestion contrary to that is just ridiculous. Obi is in China now and goodluck to him.

On the topic of Conte being found out, is it to be argued every week where results are anything other than maximal return, that X manager was found out? Was Klopp found out by Dyche. Was Peperende found out by Poch who himself wad found out by Mourinho who was found out Conte who was found out by the same Poch he had found out a month prior?...Games are won and lost. Conte has been astute enough to go against the wave of orthodoxy and endorse a system far from commonplace in the Premiership. In doing so, he has gotten the unthinkable out of Moses and a Pedro most would've thought was halfway out of the door.

As for Peperende, to claim his sole talent is motivational speaking is frank and arrant nonsense. Yes, he may have underestimated the opposition, but to question his innovation is far from the thinking of a mastermind. Pep's Barcelona changed the course of modern football, the followers and the antithesis.

Lastly, there is no such thing as being "too good to go down", Newcastle, Leeds, West Ham. Even the Boro side relegated many years back were half decent.
First of all, I am not human kind's gift for wisdom. All I wanted to highlight was just that no-one is unbeatable contrary to what some forumers have been posting here. Hence the statement 'Conte has been found out'. He may out smart others on a given day, but someone found a way of beating him.

You seem to be against me making assumptions, yet you use the same to suggest a middlefied with Obi would have faired much worse.....ain't that also laughable. Remember the same Mikel was benched in favor of Matic by Mourinho at the beginning of last season and Chelsea was stuck in the relegation battle. A new coach came and restored Mikel to the team and they ended up in a much better position....concidence? maybe, but that is a fact. The game against Spurs was not a pressing-game on the Chelsea side, it was pedestrian and they lost most of the balls they won, with Matic recording a mere 28% pass completion on that game. And again, I never said Mikel would have faired better, but just mentioned that they may regret not keeping him. For the record, I am not Nigerian, so I do not care much about Mikel's nationality, or where he plays. Just a football fan

I also never claimed his (Conte) sole role was motivational, but rather he was more motivational than tactical. As a coach, you would have picked the difference here. Yet you claim he underestimated the opponent, which is nonsense in itself as he played the same way he always plays and picked what he thought was his best team for the game. However he failed to change when things were not going his way.

Please look at Barcelona's team make-up and system/style of play before Pep took over and then apportion credit per contribution not just to Pep
Conveniently left out the trophy winning season...dude..last season was an anomaly...and there was more going on behind the scenes contributing to the demise of that season that meets the eye...google your research back to Jose's dossier presentation for transfer targets back in April when we were going to win the league...
U win 13 and then lose one and allofasudden U been found out? smh...btw 352 is not a variation of the 343...which is not a variation of the 4231...fyi with a 352 we'd be a bit more creative with Fabregas playing the Pirlo role from deep with laser beams to Costa while further blocking the middle that was overcrowded by Spurs..so my guy..it came down to personnelle and numbers in that regard, not just tactics
Pa
Pa, just like Coach, you have chosen to do selective reading and then comment. Your last statement is what I stated on my first post. Yet you chose to disagree only to end up agreeing with me. I made an observation that the game was a tactical stalemate and came down to who had the better players for the system. I specifically stated why Chelsea have conceded the same types of goals lately....The teams exploit the spaces left by the full backs and then launch, long and short closes into the Chelsea box. Hence, the reason i said whether is 343 or 353 both systems will leave ample of space behind the fullbacks.
**** @ Pa J, how buddy???? I thought you followed Mourinho and have now switched to Theater of Dreams to join us
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mastermind 17
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Re: EPL 2016-2017 season, my view

Post by mastermind 17 »

Cristao II wrote:
kali wrote:Conte is a great coach and it is his time to shine. About Mikel methinks that Conte has seen much better version in Paul Pogba. Mikel at 29 was a liability with his speed in any Conte formation.
Was Pirlo fast?
@ Cristao II, I could ask the same thing.
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Re: EPL 2016-2017 season, my view

Post by Cristao II »

Pa J, Chelsea was never going to beat Spurs at WHL with that squad. The moment Rose and Toby were available - it was game over. The formation depends a lot on the CMs winning their battles and the FBs winning their battles. Chelsea midfield pairing is weaker than Spurs. Dembele/Wanyama is stronger than Kante/Matic. If you had played Cesc in there, Spurs would have steam rollered that midfield. In the full back area, Walker/Rose are a lot more physical/aggressive than Moses/Alonso. Once those battles were won by Spurs the rest was easy. Eriksen also played above average - creating space and working hard. Ironically - the worst Spurs player was Harry Kane. Your CDs did their work however Alli's movement once your CM was neutralised was the killer.
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Re: EPL 2016-2017 season, my view

Post by mastermind 17 »

Another interesting weekend in BPL. Will Chelsea head back to London with any points? Will the super Sunday games be as exciting as billed? We will analyse the games again on Monday
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Re: EPL 2016-2017 season, my view

Post by Mr. Piffington »

Your view is reactionary and has nothing to do with reality.
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Re: EPL 2016-2017 season, my view

Post by wiseone »

Guardiola's decision to sell an experienced GK who played his entire career in England with a GK from abroad who is not good at handling crosses was near madness.

I agree with you re Depay/young players. Depay has a lot to learn. However he should learn by being loaned out, not by being sold. He has bags of talent but just needs a coach who can teach him when/how to apply it. The way Depay is viewed today (young erratic player who doesn't know how to apply his talent) is how the 18yo Ronaldo, young Hazard, and young Henry were viewed when they first arrived at Man Utd, Chelsea, and Arsenal respectively.

Selling Schneiderlin when Carrick is 35 and Bastian is coming to the end of his career, was not a good idea either.
mastermind 17 wrote: Guardiola thought getting rid of sure hands in exchange for a goal keeper who is sure footed but clumsy handling was a solution is the EPL, where crosses and rough play that goes unpunished is the norm, was going to make him a winner. He is getting a rude awakening and tactically he is not as good as the Engineer was, so he will struggle for a while. He has always benefited from the brilliance of the players he inherited.

The Special One quickly learned that there is a way to win games these days….. direct power play and attacking with speed using good ball players rather than Stiffies like Fellaini. Tough tackling Jones and Rojo came to his rescue unlike the soft center of Blind. Pity he wants to sell some of our young players like he did with Du Bryune and co at Chelsea. At 22 yrs Depay should be loaned out to a premier league team rather than sold outright. Carrick is the best we have in his role and he needs to buy a good replacement soon.
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Re: EPL 2016-2017 season, my view

Post by benteke »

1. Chelsea ..........52pts
.
2. Spurs .............45pts
3. Liverpool .......45pts
4. Arsenal ..........44pts

5. City ................42pts
6. United ............40pts

Only 5 points separate teams between position 2. and pos. 6

Top 4 fight will be very messy, and the title race is still very open to an extent.

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