Why do Poch and Emery make life hard for themselves?

Don’t pretend you’ve anything better to do on a sunny Bank Holiday Monday… send your mails to [email protected].

Are Pochettino and Emery overcomplicating it?
In your 16 Conclusions for Tottenham vs Newcastle, you mentioned the following ”but also because that’s just what Pochettino does. He doesn’t hand out starting positions easily. He didn’t for Son and still isn’t for Moura”

How is Moura still not a number one starter for Spurs? He’s one of their best players. It honestly blows my mind.

The same thing happened at Anfield on Saturday…

Unai Emery chose a weakened starting line-up. Willock, Guendouzi and Ainsley Maitland-Niles are all much weaker than their potential replacements. With the exception of AMN, those three could have easily been replaced by more talented players; Lacazette and Lucas Torreira respectively.

So, why on earth did he not start them both? Torreira was not ‘match fit’? But what does that even mean? He’s been training, he’s played with Arsenal before and got minutes last week. So why not start him? Same with Lacazette. Why on earth would you ‘rest’ your 52m striker against one of the toughest oponents and play a teenager instead? It blows my mind. I honestly cannot understand it.

It was said that Lacazette was carrying a ‘knock’ from pre-season. I don’t buy that. He went into the game with the mentality not to lose. If you do that, you lose.

Play your best players. Only don’t play them when they’re injured.
Malcolm, AFC

 

What’s the point?
Var is a good idea, hopefully the implementation will get better. But really, seriously, if the ref gives no penalty, and you have to watch 1 replay for a few seconds to see David Silva has the top of his foot stood on which is really sodding painful, how high does this unknown bar have to be?

I get that they dont want to undermine referees but that was so obvious, what will it take to overrule a decision? If that incident is not above the bar, then what is the point? Var might as well not be there.

I’m bothered about the actual outcome, since we won thankfully, but that was an absolute nonsense and it’s not achieving what it should be.
Andy, Cheshire

 

…Everyone wants fair refereeing decisions and everyone wants consistency and as far as I understand it the powers that be have been trialing technology to help achieve this.

We have new rules and tech this year to support this but nothing has changed at all. You can virtually be held in a head lock and tumbled over in the area, have your foot stamped on, and you can quite clearly fling yourself in front of strikers as you fall over using your arm to make sure(more debatable I suppose), I haven’t seen the Wolves opening game VAR controversy so I can’t comment but the whole point is it’s suppose to clear up this sort of thing, not cause controversy.

I agree that Luiz’s daft tug of the shirt was correctly ruled a penalty, relatively a lot less clear then my examples though, and City’s disallowed goal that brushed an arm – well ok fine as long as it’s consistently enforced, but how is that so stringent yet late tackles that stamp on feet etc is not? Now it appears that there needs to be “a clear and obvious error” but jeez how clear does it need to be?? Sometimes it can’t be clear enough.

I genuinely worry(I don’t know this, I just worry about it) that refs know VAR will cover them at times and may not analyse some incidents to the degree that they usually would knowing that VAR will clear it up for them.

Similarly, difficult to call decisions get left for VAR to rule over, but this makes no sense if VAR is just going to agree with the ref unless it is unbelievably crystal clear that it is a wrong decision. My point being that sometimes now a ref will not give a decision because he doesn’t know, as they always have, and not because he necessarily believed that there was no infringement, but VAR will take this as the ref saying no foul and default to backing that up unless there is something so fantastically crystal clear that it absolutely has to get involved, except will it? No, sometimes, maybe.

In any event, a system that shows clear fouls that should be penalties but is sometimes apparently unwilling to change a decision is pointless, unexplainable, and means we are no better off than we were before. It’s going to affect every team at some point, it has made no difference as so many of its decisions are unexplained, uncomprehendable, unfair and inconsistent, just like it already was. Sure it gets something’s right, but so do refs on their own.

I am a City fan, in case it’s not obvious, but I don’t want decisions to go my team’s way or anyone elses through such opaque systems or talk about lucky or unlucky decisions, it feels lame.

Maybe because I think it has affected City more so far, it genuinely is difficult to cheer immediately after a goal. Paranoia kicks in and it feels so awful having goals chalked out(some more than others), and you look a proper fool, so hesitant cheering has become a defence mechanism, waiting for VAR confirmation is pretty sterile, and doesn’t inspire the same jubilant elation.

Those who say you aren’t a proper fan if your instinctive joy doesn’t overwhelm you when your team scores haven’t fallen foul of VAR enough(rightly or wrongly), and it’s precisely the awful feeling it produces when it pulls the rug out that causes this, as long as you are passionate enough of course. Or maybe it’d be nice if some folk just don’t go on about people being not good fans, but that never happens!

I would love to hear any points that would change my mind, because I’d love to be convinced

Don’t like it.
David Watson(congrats to Silva & Aguero on their respective 400s)

 

Give cricket a go
Just thought I would stoke up the VAR’s nest. I was at Headungley yesterday and lucky enough to see one of the most swashbuckling innings ever in one of the most dramatic Ashes matches of all time. It’s up there with our slaying of Barca at Anfield last year on the way to winning Big Ears 6.

Ben Stokes 135 and Leach’s 1 not out against all odds under a searing Leeds heat in front of a believing, ebullient and crazy crowd (shoes off if you love Ben Stokes). Pure jeopardy to unbridled joy.

VAR of course was in a starring role. Delays to decisions yes but this is how VAR can and should be done. Big screens, replays and clear communication with the crowd. The match experience of celebration wasn’t ruined by VAR. It absolutely added to the enjoyment and ultimately the history of the occasion.

Maybe it is a fan state of mind thing? To all the VAR moaning Citeh fans who can’t seem to enjoy their current epoch unless their team gets every decision, why don’t you try the next test at Old Trafford? Or then again don’t bother if you are just going to dourly and sourly tut and humph your way through sporting history.
David lfc

 

Same old City
I’m not trying to take anything away from their skill, consistency, and clearly masterful tactical training, but is anybody else getting sick of watching Manchester City score the same goal over and over?
Click Here: Maori All Blacks Store
Dan, NYC

 

More conclusions to add to the 48 we’ve already reached
A few more Liverpool observations:

* Whisper it quietly but I think Salah is looking as dangerous as he was in the 17/18 season. I know he was up against Luiz having one of those days, but he has been a teal handful in every game so far this season. Whilst Mane’s been getting the plaudits and the goals, Salah has looked unplayable. He seems to have that swagger back that dipped a little after the Ramos incident.

* Watching Liverpool keepers who are not Alisson can be painful. It really goes to show just how much pressure the team’s style of play heaps on the keeper. It’s not just a case of being the last line of defence. It’s playing an active part in the press and quick recycling of the ball. And it’s clearly not easy, although Alisson makes it look easy.

* Arsenal kept the score line slightly more respectable but I think it’s a bad sign that they felt the need to change up their system and employ such a different style of play against Liverpool. You expect that from relegation or mid table fodder, not potential Champions League teams. The decision to leave Liverpool space on the flanks shows they couldn’t even do it as well as a mid table team. They were dangerous on the counter but that was about it.

* Are we looking at a big two? Seeing Arsenal set out to completely change their style and deploy eight men behind the ball suggests that Liverpool and City May even be treated differently than the rest of the big six now, even within the big six. Early days of course but the league table is already taking shape into a two horse race.

* Liverpool’s starting 11 has never looked so settled. In the big games, you could put your house on who’s starting. The only question mark has been a toss up between a fully fit Gomez and Matip. I think that has been settled in the first five games they’ve played. It’ll take either injury or something consistently special in fringe games for Gomez to get ahead in the selection again.

* I will be interested to see how Liverpool fare when the fixtures pile up. How much will that starting 11 change? The squad is strong, no doubt, but we still seem short in quality front three cover or any cover at all at left back. The performance against Arsenal looked utterly lung busting. I’m not sure that will be the approach in every game when the fixtures are coming think and fast.

* Not that Liverpool fans should be focusing on any negatives at the minute. Early signs look good and the fact there is room for improvement is promising.
Sam(inho)

 

The Martinez effect
Steve Bruce could well benefit inheriting a team with well-coached tactical discipline and defensive organisation and then loosening the shackles slightly so his creative players can express themselves a bit more. At first the team will do well with Bruce seemingly inducing the best performances out of his boys, strong at the back, deadly at the front. No doubt he will ‘modestly’ take credit for the revolution saying “it’s simple, we just needed to score more than the other team, put the ball about a bit and do some hard yards on the pitch” and the PFMs will smugly slaver and dance on Benitez’s still warm grave with a good riddance jig and a Boys Club woop.

What we are experiencing is the Martinez Effect. A less talented coach benefitting from his predecessors skills and his players initial burst of creativity following the slackening of the rules at training and on the pitch.

Then a struggling Premier League side will fire their young progressive manager rather than give them time to bed their ideas in, and the chairman will reach for his little black book, flick to H, run his finger down to Hughes, M, and start dialling..

And so the cycle continues…
Alay, N15 Gooner

 

Off the pace
Just looked at the Prem table for the first time this season and realised we’re already 5 points adrift after only 3 games.

It’s going to be a long, long season.
Andy Race

 

Postcard from… a street food festival
The Edinburgh Fringe appears to be winding down, as the UK’s biggest comedy festival draws to a close. This meant the best laughs of the weekend were found at Old Trafford. I wasn’t there – F365’s man ordinarily in Japan and I were at a street food festival with our families and following updates elsewhere. Zweigen Kanazawa beat Albirex Niigata and Grantham Town beat Barton Town OB in the FA Cup, since you asked. Our weekend > yours.

*The thing people seem to forget about Crystal Palace is that the more they get built up, the more likely they are to fall short of expectations, but the other side of that coin is that they always seem to play at their best once they’ve been written off. Even when they conceded the lead they had defended doggedly, Manchester United clearly believed the game was theirs to win. That it turned out not to be was incredibly sweet, and incredibly funny.

The Eagles are the last away team to win at Old Trafford (obviously), Anfield, the Etihad and the Emirates. It does seem at times like the only ground they don’t like playing at is Selhurst Park. Still, when big clubs start treating them as a serious threat they’re stuffed.

*Even by Roy Hodgson’s standards, this was an incredibly functional team. A narrow 4-4-2, with four central midfielders, even leaving Andros Townsend on the bench. Jordan Ayew was picked as one of the strikers, presumably for his superior pressing compared to Christian Benteke, in a team seemingly designed to wear the opposition out first and foremost.

Elsewhere, while the signing of Gary Cahill was largely seen as an indication of a lack of ambition on the club’s part – even by this site – it was a low-risk acquisition, and it paid dividends here. In the absence of Mamadou Sakho and James Tomkins, Cahill brings leadership to the back line, and was even awarded man of the match by the BBC website. I’m sure the Manchester United fans reading this will think he should have been sent off, but for a foul committed in an attempt to win the ball in that position, a yellow card is probably a sufficient punishment. As I write this, I’m watching Barcelona v Real Betis and I’ve just seen Gerard Pique receive the same punishment for something very similar.

*Victor Lindelof is done as a centre-back now. Anyone who loses an aerial duel to Jeffrey Schlupp might as well find another line of work, not least because his failure to win that header allowed Ayew to run in behind him and score with Palace’s first shot on target. As Ayew missed a similar chance against Everton, it was great to see him tuck this one away.

Lindelof’s centre-back partner has hardly fared better; having faced the Eagles seven times, Harry Maguire has been on the losing end six times, including a couple of outright thrashings.

*The winning goal was almost the opposite of the curse of the returning player. Christian Benteke and Wilfried Zaha combined very well in the build-up, and it almost felt like they targeted former teammate Aaron Wan-Bissaka, knowing he’d win the ball. Patrick van Aanholt, following up, found himself in the perfect place to slam the ball home. A spectacular and scarcely believable moment, but precisely what keeps most of us going through the drudgery and the disappointment.

*In addition to the one squandered by Marcus Rashford, there were a couple of other occasions when Manchester United believed they should have had a penalty. It did feel like Martin Kelly had got away with one on Anthony Martial, but the other shout felt like the attacker was fishing for it. I suppose all you can say is that these decisions only tend to go your way if you’re a top club.

*Daniel James being booked for simulation allows me to bang one of my drums, which is about the administration of yellow cards. Watching the replay, he was clearly caught by James McArthur, so didn’t take a dive, but there is no means by which that yellow card can be expunged from his record. This is low down the list of problems with enforcing the laws of the game, but it still needs addressing. Even though it was only given as a result of a refereeing error, and has been reported as such by the media, the same outlets will undoubtedly in future be reporting that “James has received cautions for simulation previously” with zero acknowledgement of context. I can’t help wondering if James found a kindred spirit with one of his opponents on Saturday.

*Next up, Palace host Jeremy Aves’s Colchester United in the EFL Cup, and are back at Selhurst Park for the visit of Aston Villa: two opportunities for the players to prove they can unlock teams prepared to do to them what they did to such great effect on Saturday.
Ed Quoththeraven