Premier League

[ABBEY]

Fleck just retired on the pitch at Sheffield,  way to go maggreg

[simongarnerisgod]

at least sheff utd did`nt spend 100+ million quid to be shite😁

[AllRoverAsia]

I forgot it was on. I've missed 3 goals already.

[Exiled_Rover]

28 minutes ago, ABBEY said:

Fleck just retired on the pitch at Sheffield,  way to go maggreg

Did he?

Surely that means we don't have to pay him anymore - which is pretty honourable of him. 

[ABBEY]

0-5 now.. worst ever prem team and performance  ? Not ht yet

[roverandout]

Sheffield united the San Marino of the epl

[windymiller7]

Could be record victory here.

[Tom]

24 minutes ago, windymiller7 said:

Could be record victory here.

Foot off the gas now, they could easily get another 3 if they fancied it 

 

[wilsdenrover]

On course for the worst ever goal difference in the history of the PL.

[roverandout]

We'd be minus 80

[riverholmes]

9 minutes ago, roverandout said:

We'd be minus 80

It's not uncommon for newly promoted sides to sell a key player before the season nowadays. I recall Norwich selling Buendia and Sheff Utd sold Berge and Ndiaye prior to this campaign. It might well have happened in the past but I wonder if it is going to become a norm. If we had sold Dunn or Duff on promotion, our 2000s revival would have been in jeopardy.

Edited March 4 by riverholmes

[Tyrone Shoelaces]

Where’s Big Ben these days, I thought he’d signed for them ?

[alcd]

13 minutes ago, Tyrone Shoelaces said:

Where’s Big Ben these days, I thought he’d signed for them ?

Injured. Hamstring (again) 

[Norbert Rassragr]

 

Enjoy 

[Tyrone Shoelaces]

26 minutes ago, alcd said:

Injured. Hamstring (again) 

I’ve just seen he was on the bench tonight but didn’t get on.

[riverholmes]

Arsenal scored six very similar goals against Sheff Utd - they all involved cut-backs of some kind from within the penalty box. There were some variations in the finishes and the build-up play. However, it makes me wonder if we are at a point where the elite game, for all its advancements, has become formulaic, even to the point of the same style of goal being scored.

Clearly, it was very effective for Arsenal and I don't blame them for playing like this - and it's up to others to disrupt. However, it seems to make for a less interesting game - or, at least, highlights package, as I watched. I'm sure there was more variety in the build up that the highlights miss. (Incidentally, I think the broadcasters miss a trick by excluding build up play because that's what makes most goals interesting. Viaplay put out 6/7 min highlights of international and overseas games and it makes such a difference, to me, at least).

Edit: This is just an impression, based on not a lot of evidence, as I don't watch as much Prem football these days. Back in the day, I'm sure there was a lot of repetition based on what seemed to work and what was in fashion at the time. 

 

Edited March 5 by riverholmes

[arbitro]

6 hours ago, riverholmes said:

Arsenal scored six very similar goals against Sheff Utd - they all involved cut-backs of some kind from within the penalty box. There were some variations in the finishes and the build-up play. However, it makes me wonder if we are at a point where the elite game, for all its advancements, has become formulaic, even to the point of the same style of goal being scored.

Clearly, it was very effective for Arsenal and I don't blame them for playing like this - and it's up to others to disrupt. However, it seems to make for a less interesting game - or, at least, highlights package, as I watched. I'm sure there was more variety in the build up that the highlights miss. (Incidentally, I think the broadcasters miss a trick by excluding build up play because that's what makes most goals interesting. Viaplay put out 6/7 min highlights of international and overseas games and it makes such a difference, to me, at least).

Edit: This is just an impression, based on not a lot of evidence, as I don't watch as much Prem football these days. Back in the day, I'm sure there was a lot of repetition based on what seemed to work and what was in fashion at the time. 

 

You make a very good point. With wide players as good as Saka and Martinelli it's a great tactic to employ as the both are always looking to get in behind. Several esteemed commentators have bemoaned the lack of a proper central striker at Arsenal. How many goals would one get with the chances they create?

[Mattyblue]

Getting in behind and cutting back to unmarked, untracked players in the box is standard Sunday league/kids stuff when one side is a million miles away from the other.

I wouldn’t look too deeply into the wider tactical implications on this occasion.

Edited March 5 by Mattyblue

[K-Hod]

Makes a bit of a mockery of it being called the best league in the world, when the gulf in class between the top 3 and everyone else is so huge. 
How many massive away wins have there been this season? They’ve been talking up a three horse race being the most exciting in years, but I’d say, if anything, the gap between the have and have nots is bigger than ever.

As Paddy Power humorously posted last night: ‘just how bad must that Derby 07-08 team have been, to be worse than Sheffield United?’.

[Tyrone Shoelaces]

2 hours ago, Mattyblue said:

Getting in behind and cutting back to unmarked, untracked players in the box is standard Sunday league/kids stuff when one side is a million miles away from the other.

I wouldn’t look too deeply into the wider tactical implications on this occasion.

It’s still really hard to defend against. Once you’ve got defenders turned around and running back towards their own  goal you’ve cracked it as a striker. They no longer can watch the ball and the guy they are supposed to marking. Making space for a shot is easy then. 

Edited March 5 by Tyrone Shoelaces

[Mattyblue]

It’s very hard when you don’t bother tracking your runners or marking. You aren’t 5-0 down at home after 30 minutes if you are putting a shift in, regardless of opposition. Look at Luton for evidence of that.

(And getting spanked 5-0, 6-0, even 8-0 every home game).

Edited March 5 by Mattyblue

[riverholmes]

3 hours ago, arbitro said:

You make a very good point. With wide players as good as Saka and Martinelli it's a great tactic to employ as the both are always looking to get in behind. Several esteemed commentators have bemoaned the lack of a proper central striker at Arsenal. How many goals would one get with the chances they create?

I wonder if wingers of yesterday think of all the kicks they took and Herculean effort they put in just to reach the byline in the corner, only for it to be considered a backwards approach now.

Edited March 5 by riverholmes

[arbitro]

14 minutes ago, Mattyblue said:

It’s very hard when you don’t bother tracking your runners or marking. You aren’t 5-0 down at home after 30 minutes if you are putting a shift in, regardless of opposition. Look at Luton for evidence of that.

(And getting spanked 5-0, 6-0, even 8-0 every home game).

Players of the ability of Saka and Martinelli can beat players in very little space and get behind with their pace and skill. Early on last night Wilder made a tactical change to double up on them but still they couldn't stop them. What really helps is the natural width they offer as they make the pitch big creating space for the likes of Odegarrard to capitalise on. City also do this really well with the quality of their wide men.

[Mattyblue]

Get all that, but you aren’t losing every home game to all kinds of opposition 5-0, 6-0, 8-0 if you are putting a shift in.

[speeeeeeedie]

4 hours ago, K-Hod said:

Makes a bit of a mockery of it being called the best league in the world, when the gulf in class between the top 3 and everyone else is so huge. 
How many massive away wins have there been this season? They’ve been talking up a three horse race being the most exciting in years, but I’d say, if anything, the gap between the have and have nots is bigger than ever.

As Paddy Power humorously posted last night: ‘just how bad must that Derby 07-08 team have been, to be worse than Sheffield United?’.

I said the other week that there is something wrong at Sheffield Utd. Last night was another example. 5 down before halftime is disgraceful. Neither the manager or players are performing. 

Selling their 2 best players and losing a couple of good loan players hasn't helped, but from the outside it looks like the whole lot of them have given up. Is their owner trying to sell up?

Both Sheff Utd and Burnley utilised the loan market in the Championship and deployed completely different strategies once promoted. Luton had no loans and only brought in a couple of new players and are in trouble but faring better than the other two.