Berggy9598

I don't see anyone running away with 2nd/3rd place anyway. Should be interesting though with 4 clubs competing for 3 spots.

Do I take next Wednesday off of work for United? On the one hand they can be a good substitute for Melatonin but on the other it's fixing to be quite the spectacle,

Life in the Premier League in a nutshell. We may not have the most easy on the eye football at times but teams will fight and claw you like no other league in the world.

Flipped through the thread a bit while waiting for someone at the airport. "Us" used to be United at one point apparently and now him needs on the ignore list before me gets in trouble.

He's gifted for sure I just think cohesiveness and continuity play a big part at that position. Speaking of Spurs they may just be making the signing of the window and it's flying under the radar. Harry Kane has never really played with a wide player of Malcolm's quality it's just a question of if he can adjust to the league. Better than two thirds of the appointments made post Fergie. Not that it would ever happen but I'd love to see what Diego Simeoni can do in the PL.

He's pouting in the direction of the owners (again) and he doesn't stick around when things don't go his way. I can see him giving it one more year to try to win the league and leaving either way. If he wins he can say look how wonderful I am but I'm out, and if he doesn't he can say he was being held back.

He can be miserable to play for as an attacking player but the ones that adapt (Off the top of my head Ozil and Diego Milito) end up doing very well. Sanchez was never a lazy player but it did look like he felt he was doing them a favor by being there, so who's to say that won't come back after a couple of bad results. If he's doing a van Persie he'll be motivated if the team contends for the league and probably sulk if they drop out contention early. If you read between the lines this may Mourinho going all in for next season and not caring what happens past that. It'll be interesting to see who the next club willing to gamble on getting pre-Madrid Mourinho is going to be.

Wasn't here for that but their Belgian center backs work very well together in the unlikely event that they're both healthy. Wanyama is also very underrated so I'd say they're solid if unspectacular. Looked lost without their playmaker though.

That would be an earth shaker if there ever was one but he could score goals for fun for them if he's deployed as a striker. I think he'll bugger off to L.A eventually as supposedly he's quite fond of that awful place for some reason. Didn't think they'd struggle so much without Eriksen. Dele Zidane didn't have the best of games.

Still don't know why Arsenal didn't sell him in the summer. They could have replaced him and saved themselves half a season with a malcontent. Even more comical is that with or without Sanchez, they would have never been in any kind of direct competition with City while they are with United. Not sure exactly what happened to lead to this transfer because I don't buy that a club with owners that may literally print money had reservations about spending on wages.

Can't help but wonder what Sean Dyche would do with a squad of players like Southampton or West Ham. Should be England manager although he may not even want that job.

There's a few reasons to question this move but Sanchez's quality isn't one of them. I'm always weary of bringing in a player after a move to his preferred destination fell apart which is my major concern here. United's quality in the final third has been wildly inconsistent this year and one of the main things holding them back. The lack guile and creativity when Pogba went out was alarming.

Not exactly sure what this is based on. The way they played yesterday isn't something new this year. Some games they attack very well and some games they look completely disjointed. It's usually an unknown how a Jan transfer will fit in but what is it exactly that you see?

Now Sky is stealing my material

Well that was another ugly win. Scoreline could have been a little more aesthetically pleasing with a little more composure in the final third but three points is three points. Pogba has to show a little bit more mental toughness in these games and not let teams get in his head. Not sure where Mourinho is getting the idea of playing Jesse Lingard in this box to box/10 hybrid role he had Oscar play in at Chelsea. Industry is one thing but Lingard doesn't have the guile and quick thinking it takes to excel in that role. Hopefully Sanchez can bring some more decisiveness in the final third. On another note, good to see David Silva back as much as I can't stand the team he plays on. One of the best of his era and seems like a solid human being to boot. Hope his little one born prematurely and his wife are doing ok.

Well that's a relief.

Please God let the rumors of Chelsea bidding 30 million for Andy Carroll be true. Not sure what's going on at that club now a days but you wonder what the next head scratcher will be. 50 mil for Mark Noble? 70 mil for Ashley Barnes?

Thank the Lord they don't know how to use fax machines in Madrid. Our defensive record is hardly a reflection of the back 4 this season at least.

Comeback may not have been the most apt of terms but don't tell me you've never wanted to charge full speed ahead at a ****ney.

Very meh at times United were today but got the job done. As I suspected Stoke were strolling through the midfield and with a bit more quality would have got on the score sheet. Pogba is brilliant when given free range and that's how it should stay, but even the lower tier PL teams will exploit the void left in midfield if there is no box to box playing along side Matic. Not sure what Herrera did to fall out of favor but those three are very well suited to play together and it doesn't even necessarily mean you're more defensive in that formation. Oh well, still leading the pack behind City with Alexis (hopefully) on the way. He won't work any miracles but he'll solidify our contention for second place.

Voila! Absolutely sublime goal

Pogba and Matic in a two man midfield again. The 3 man midfield dream has died a swift death.

Congrats to my "friends" down the road on a very impressive performance. One wonders how much Pep's aura of invincibility and if it's still aided by those original Barca sides that literally had no weaknesses. Klopp summed it up perfectly when he said they're incredibly consistent tactically and they have a world class player at most positions, only I'm not sure if I buy the latter. After his time at Barca, when faced with parity in regards to the opposing team's quality, that tactical consistency = predictability. They're a superb side this year don't get me wrong, but imo they're still not as good as the undefeated Arsenal team, Mourinho's Chelsea that set the points record, or both of United's (Manchester United just in case there's any confusion) CL winners under Fergie. You could throw 13/14 Liverpool and City's first title winning team in that conversation too. This game IMO was a reminder of why Liverpool were right to pay what they did for Van Dijk. First of all for whatever reason the sports media in England love to rip on how much the top clubs spend, and at the same time want to heap praise upon foreign teams for their magnificent squads. That's the market right now and those prices will only continue to rise. Pogba would have cost another 50-60 million this summer, VVD would probably cost another 30-40 million next summer. It's a brilliant buy because we know Liverpool are unplayable when they catch fire like they did today, but with more talent at the back they should be able to grind out results on off days on a more consistent basis. You don't want to be the soccer equivalent of Mike D'Antoni's Suns.

Closest think to van Nistelrooy I've seen in a while.

Referees having a less than stellar outing in the early set of PL fixtures today. How that handball in the Brighton-West Brom game was missed it beyond me.