Premier League 2024/25 - Gameweek 17 - 21-22nd December, 2024

[6666]

19 minutes ago, LFCMike said:

What a player. Up to 4th in the all time top scorers for Liverpool now too, ahead of Billy Liddell

 

Will most likely reach 20/20. Would only be the second to do that in the Premier League.

What would be more crazy is if he won the golden boot and gets the most assists.

[Gooner]

5 minutes ago, 6666 said:

Will most likely reach 20/20. Would only be the second to do that in the Premier League.

What would be more crazy is if he won the golden boot and gets the most assists.

And add not winning the title to boot.

[LFCMike]

37 minutes ago, Dr. Gonzo said:

But does he improve us?

Haha blast from the past. 

[LFCMike]

30 minutes ago, 6666 said:

Will most likely reach 20/20. Would only be the second to do that in the Premier League.

What would be more crazy is if he won the golden boot and gets the most assists.

Who was the other? Ronaldo or Henry I'm guessing

[Gooner]

9 minutes ago, LFCMike said:

Who was the other? Ronaldo or Henry I'm guessing

It was Thierry Henry in the 2002/03 season for us and we never won the league title that season, if it to be matched, hopefully history repeats itself.

[LFCMike]

40 minutes ago, Gooner said:

It was Thierry Henry in the 2002/03 season for us and we never won the league title that season, if it to be matched, hopefully history repeats itself.

You don't want Chelsea to win the league do you? 

[Gooner]

7 minutes ago, LFCMike said:

You don't want Chelsea to win the league do you? 

I like it.

No, I don't want  Chelsea to win the title, I want Arsenal to win the title and I still believe will reel you in and finish above you this season. Remember in February this year you were 5 points above us, we beat you 3-1 at the Emirates and ended up finishing above you last season, I haven't lost faith, it's doable 

Edited Sunday at 22:01 by Gooner
It's

[Stan]

@Dan how bad is Thursday going to get

I genuinely wouldn't be surprised if it's 5 or 6-0 minimum at half time. 

[Dan+]

15 minutes ago, Stan said:

@Dan how bad is Thursday going to get

I genuinely wouldn't be surprised if it's 5 or 6-0 minimum at half time. 

I think they might realise the luck of the situation and play the reserves, or at least rest a few. Might as well give Salah, van Dijk etc... a night off.

If Ward's playing, and I'm offered 5-0 right now, I'm taking it.

We've been conceding 15-25 shots every single game and were only letting in 2 or so a game because we had a good goalkeeper. You replace that with the worst one to ever play at this level, it's really set up for a disaster for us.

If Ward starts the game, as per today, I'm not watching it. I'm not having my intelligence insulted.

[Dave]

4 hours ago, RandoEFC said:

I can't believe people defend Ange. They have good days and bad days but it doesn't matter if the net result is that they're bottom half when everyone has nearly played each other once.

4 of the first choice back 5 are out, any team in this position plays Liverpool and it’ll be a similar outcome.

They've also had there best DM missing the last seven games before this.

One players are back they can push for top five again, which is only two wins away and contains Forest and Bournemouth.

The season is still very much open and the mitigating factors make pressure on the manager unnecessary.

[Rick]

15 goals and 11 assists in 16 games. It’s actually unbelievable. 

[MUFC]

If Liverpool pull away by March, they'll be able to rest players for CL games.

[MUFC]

Just now, MUFC said:

If Liverpool pull away by March, they'll be able to rest players for CL games.

@Dr. Gonzo

[Devil]

What an horrific match to attend yesterday, there is no worse feeling in football than considering leaving at game as early as 60 minutes. I last until Amad blazed a chance around 82.

It used to be said the players weren't trying during the Pogba, Linford and Martial period but my god could this team do with a few players of their quality. How on earth was ETH allowed to accumulate so many average players clearly not good enough for Premier league level.

You've also got to question Amorim I'm afraid. I understand rotation is needed at this time of year but there is also a requirement for consistency and we just aren't getting that by bringing in the likes of Malacia and Antony. Both of those players should be shown the door in January.

Also a final note, whoever sanction the signing of Joshua Zirskee needs to seriously explain what on earth they were thinking. If it was ETH and they signed it off they still need questioning because he's absolutely shocking. I never thought anyone could be worse than Antony until now.

[Dr. Gonzo]

15 hours ago, Dave said:

4 of the first choice back 5 are out, any team in this position plays Liverpool and it’ll be a similar outcome.

They've also had there best DM missing the last seven games before this.

One players are back they can push for top five again, which is only two wins away and contains Forest and Bournemouth.

The season is still very much open and the mitigating factors make pressure on the manager unnecessary.

I think most managers would adjust their tactics to try to help the players rather than just play that kind of suicidal backline.

 

1 hour ago, Devil said:

What an horrific match to attend yesterday, there is no worse feeling in football than considering leaving at game as early as 60 minutes. I last until Amad blazed a chance around 82.

It used to be said the players weren't trying during the Pogba, Linford and Martial period but my god could this team do with a few players of their quality. How on earth was ETH allowed to accumulate so many average players clearly not good enough for Premier league level.

You've also got to question Amorim I'm afraid. I understand rotation is needed at this time of year but there is also a requirement for consistency and we just aren't getting that by bringing in the likes of Malacia and Antony. Both of those players should be shown the door in January.

Also a final note, whoever sanction the signing of Joshua Zirskee needs to seriously explain what on earth they were thinking. If it was ETH and they signed it off they still need questioning because he's absolutely shocking. I never thought anyone could be worse than Antony until now.

Idk how Amorim can be questioned so early tbh. United are full of players that aren’t good enough and playing under a manager that’s got new ideas after however long after Ten Hag at the club and his complete lack of tactics.

I don’t think there’s any easy fix for United. Substandard players with bad attitudes - I think it’d take years for any manager to turn them around even if they get everything right.

[Devil]

2 hours ago, Dr. Gonzo said:

I think most managers would adjust their tactics to try to help the players rather than just play that kind of suicidal backline.

 

Idk how Amorim can be questioned so early tbh. United are full of players that aren’t good enough and playing under a manager that’s got new ideas after however long after Ten Hag at the club and his complete lack of tactics.

I don’t think there’s any easy fix for United. Substandard players with bad attitudes - I think it’d take years for any manager to turn them around even if they get everything right.

Obviously it was a bit of tongue in cheek mate, he's not under any pressure because he's inherited a terrible squad. That said we can see these players are useless, why give game time to lads incapable of getting you results. The lads I've mentioned shouldn't even play for the reserves they are that bad.

 

[Dr. Gonzo]

1 hour ago, Devil said:

Obviously it was a bit of tongue in cheek mate, he's not under any pressure because he's inherited a terrible squad. That said we can see these players are useless, why give game time to lads incapable of getting you results. The lads I've mentioned shouldn't even play for the reserves they are that bad.

 

Zirkzee was class in Italy, but he's not really a number 9 type of striker and he's never been prolific (other than when he was on loan in Belgium... and that really isn't a high quality league so I wouldn't look into his stats there too much). Despite his large frame, he's best as a deeper lying forward that's somewhat of a playmaker - a bit like Firmino was for us when we had that front 3 of Salah, Mane, and Firmino. It's also early days for him at United and he's walked into a side that is, as you say, terrible. I think that's a far cry from a Bologna squad that was pretty well built and with a tactical role that was really suited to get the best of him. You pair him with a deadly striker, or two really quick and clinical wide forwards on both sides of him and I'm sure he'd thrive.

Those other two you mentioned though are legitimately terrible players. I can't believe how much Antony cost tbh & that was also the feeling from a lot of Ajax fans when the transfer was made according to a couple of social media sites - he's genuinely up there as one of the worst signings in English football history (along with Mudyrk), the amount spent on him and the absence of talent and quality is profound.

I think Amorim's got a massive project on his hands. That back 3 CB system he likes to play requires 3 totally different sorts of starting CBs to what United currently have - and I think getting the CBs the right quality for the level United want to be at and playing in a system like that will be very expensive. Maguire's never been good enough for United imo - but somehow he's still probably United's best CB on paper. That's mental to me. Meanwhile, you've definitely got a problem in terms of the attack too. I think Zirkzee's a good player worth persisting with, but you've got to have someone clinical alongside him at very least - United don't really have that at all.

It's an expensive problem to fix. Meanwhile the infrastructure at Old Trafford's been left to rot - renovating a stadium's not cheap either. Meanwhile you've got that penny pinching billionaire upsetting staff by doing things like taking away £50 bonuses from the lowest paid people on United's payroll, which I don't think can be good for the morale of the people that keep the club running off the pitch and makes the club a less attractive place to work for the ordinary people who love the club and work important (yet low paying) jobs for them. And I think that shows a real disconnect from the ownership of the club to the community the club is meant to represent - that's a problem at most clubs owned who are owned by out of touch billionaires, if not all of them, but doubling down on this sort of penny pinching behavior while you've got people like Antony/Martinez literally stealing a living and getting paid millions a year is fundamentally grotesque imo.

Then there's shit like the Dean Ashworth saga, where you've paid a lot of money to bring a guy in and then he's promptly been sacked and I genuinely don't understand what the point of that was at all. I don't think any director of football or manager can make an immediate impact on United on the pitch given the state of things. The problem, once again like under the Glazers, starts at the top and flows down and United look clueless from the top down still - even though Amorim's a good manager who needs some serious backing to fix United up to get even close to where they want to be.

[Dr. Gonzo]

19 hours ago, Stan said:

@Dan how bad is Thursday going to get

I genuinely wouldn't be surprised if it's 5 or 6-0 minimum at half time. 

Tbh these "easy wins on paper" are the sort of matches we seem to struggle with the most in our recent history. I'd love for us to absolutely destroy a side managed by Van Nistlerooy, I hate that horse faced cunt, but I'm always weary of every match - particularly against those that aren't that high up on the table where all logic dictates that we should be getting an easy win.

Despite our early defensive record, since Konate's injury (obligatory fuck Endrick) we've been quite shaky at the back. Which is a bit weird because Gomez has come in and not really put a foot wrong - but if Quansah plays you've certainly got a shot at grabbing goals from out of nowhere. Robertson's form's been erratic too - he's had some good games for us this season but he's also had some stinkers. I don't think it's any surprise that Spurs had more joy attacking down our left than they did trying to go through Son who was just in Trent's back pocket for 90 minutes.

For as good as we were getting 6 goals without really getting out of 2nd gear against Spurs, they still scored 3 goals even though they were dominated for most of that match. That does say something about how Spurs are much better going forward than they are at defending, particularly with their injuries at the back and Forster putting in one of the worst goalkeeping displays I've seen against us ever. But I think it also demonstrates that until we've got our first choice CB to pair with Van Dijk back (and arguably a fully fit Tsimikas to take Robertson's place in the side, because I think Robertson's drop off in form is just going to continue even though he's still alright - just a far cry from what he used to be), we've still got vulnerabilities that other sides can exploit.

But I'm relieved that Leicester seem to be the kind of side that just give up chances easily because with the form our attack is in we should at least be getting 2 or 3 goals. But stranger things have happened in matches like this, so you never really know.

[Dave]

4 hours ago, Dr. Gonzo said:

think most managers would adjust their tactics to try to help the players rather than just play that kind of suicidal backline.

It's 2024, everybody's got to have a philosophy, even if it means dropping points.

[Stan]

3 hours ago, Dr. Gonzo said:

so you never really know.

Yes, yes we do

Mate, it's going to be the literal definition of procession. 

There's no reason why it shouldn't be, despite all the things you mention. You may have vulnerabilities to exploit, and they may have been exploited by Spurs, we are not the side to do that. 

We've just come off the back of a trouncing at home to a side that conceded 40 goals already this season and didn't lay a glove on them. It was embarrassing but it's not even going to touch the sides compared to how bad Thursday can get for us. 

We have a goalkeeper that exudes less than zero percent confidence in the rest of the players, let alone fans. We have a defence that conceded shots for fun, and one of them seemingly just fancies letting balls run across him to opposition wingers for the fun of it. We have a clown lookalike and play-alike when given the opportunity, and was on a hat-trick of own goals last time this fixture was played... 

Our midfield consists of players that aren't good enough generally. We have wingers better off as defensive players, and a winger that struggles to create. 

We have Vardy who struggles without creativity behind him. The other shining lights are El Khannous and Buonanotte. If they play you just need to keep them quiet and job done. 

That's not to mention we have a horrendously bad record at Anfield against you. And that's all before I come onto mentioning any referee decision gifted to you

[Dr. Gonzo]

8 hours ago, Stan said:

Yes, yes we do

Mate, it's going to be the literal definition of procession. 

There's no reason why it shouldn't be, despite all the things you mention. You may have vulnerabilities to exploit, and they may have been exploited by Spurs, we are not the side to do that. 

We've just come off the back of a trouncing at home to a side that conceded 40 goals already this season and didn't lay a glove on them. It was embarrassing but it's not even going to touch the sides compared to how bad Thursday can get for us. 

We have a goalkeeper that exudes less than zero percent confidence in the rest of the players, let alone fans. We have a defence that conceded shots for fun, and one of them seemingly just fancies letting balls run across him to opposition wingers for the fun of it. We have a clown lookalike and play-alike when given the opportunity, and was on a hat-trick of own goals last time this fixture was played... 

Our midfield consists of players that aren't good enough generally. We have wingers better off as defensive players, and a winger that struggles to create. 

We have Vardy who struggles without creativity behind him. The other shining lights are El Khannous and Buonanotte. If they play you just need to keep them quiet and job done. 

That's not to mention we have a horrendously bad record at Anfield against you. And that's all before I come onto mentioning any referee decision gifted to you

Oh yeah make sure Faes plays please, I love that guy

[Dan+]

12 hours ago, Dr. Gonzo said:

Tbh these "easy wins on paper" are the sort of matches we seem to struggle with the most in our recent history. I'd love for us to absolutely destroy a side managed by Van Nistlerooy, I hate that horse faced cunt, but I'm always weary of every match - particularly against those that aren't that high up on the table where all logic dictates that we should be getting an easy win.

Despite our early defensive record, since Konate's injury (obligatory fuck Endrick) we've been quite shaky at the back. Which is a bit weird because Gomez has come in and not really put a foot wrong - but if Quansah plays you've certainly got a shot at grabbing goals from out of nowhere. Robertson's form's been erratic too - he's had some good games for us this season but he's also had some stinkers. I don't think it's any surprise that Spurs had more joy attacking down our left than they did trying to go through Son who was just in Trent's back pocket for 90 minutes.

For as good as we were getting 6 goals without really getting out of 2nd gear against Spurs, they still scored 3 goals even though they were dominated for most of that match. That does say something about how Spurs are much better going forward than they are at defending, particularly with their injuries at the back and Forster putting in one of the worst goalkeeping displays I've seen against us ever. But I think it also demonstrates that until we've got our first choice CB to pair with Van Dijk back (and arguably a fully fit Tsimikas to take Robertson's place in the side, because I think Robertson's drop off in form is just going to continue even though he's still alright - just a far cry from what he used to be), we've still got vulnerabilities that other sides can exploit.

But I'm relieved that Leicester seem to be the kind of side that just give up chances easily because with the form our attack is in we should at least be getting 2 or 3 goals. But stranger things have happened in matches like this, so you never really know.

Nobody realises how bad we are until they've played us. Which I understand - we've hardly been on TV this season and the league table puts us in a very false position. Make no mistake though, you could rest 9/10 players for this and you'll still be winning by three goals minimum. We're lurching from one disaster to another at the minute. I'd go as far as saying if we won it would be the biggest single surprise result I can remember in the Premier League.

Van Nistelrooy's managed to kill the optimism around his appointment in one moment of total madness re Danny Ward, and even more worrying is he seems to be doubling down on it.

I'm deadly serious - if Ward plays against Liverpool I'm refusing to watch the game. I did exactly that against Wolves - a trash side who we're completely capable of beating. If the club are going to insult our intelligence then I don't see why we should devote any of our own time to it.

We've been conceding a stupid number of shots in every game and only kept the number of goals conceded down due to having a genuinely very good goalkeeper. You replace that cog with a bloke who it's frankly disgusting is still on our payroll there really is no low I don't think we can hit. I can see another 9-0, for sure.

[Dan+]

Honestly Ward being on our books is an utter disgrace. It genuinely angers me. There is no singular thing that sums up what this club is about than that. It's a level of incompetence and neglect that I just don't think anyone who doesn't follow us could understand. It's an insult. For him to have been given the games he was given two years ago, which directly relegated us against all odds. That he's still at the club and now actually being turned to as an option again. He probably cannot believe what's going on himself.

Maresca was the only one who dealt with it. Bombed straight to 4th or 5th choice and completely out of the way. Obviously the useless cunt Jon Rudkin couldn't get rid of him so he remained and as soon as Maresca gets out of here (like anyone with sense would) he's somehow back in contention again.

It's just sad what we are now. The worst run club in the league and it's by an absolute mile as well. Though we only have around 4/5 months left in it. That Bournemouth game in May will be our last game at this level for a long time. Maybe when you look around that little ground and think that it could be hosting European football next season while we'll be hosting Wycombe Wanderers it will sink in.

[Dan+]

Been going through our last few games. We're incredibly bad.

Wolves 0-3 - had Wolves fans tell me it's the worst defence they can remember facing in the Premier League.

Newcastle 4-0 - Newcastle fans telling me it's the worst side to go to SJP in years.

Brentford 4-1 - Brentford fans calling us the worst side to go to the GTech in the Premier League.

Chelsea 1-2 - Chelsea fans saying the easiest game they've had all season (they hadn't played Southampton by this point in fairness).

United 3-0 & 5-2 - similar comments from their fans. Maybe Everton a contender.

This is all since the end of October!

I think with Russell Martin gone there's a very real chance we're the worst side in the division.

I wonder what the EFL have for us. Given god knows how many lifelines and we're still serving this up.

This ownership are a disgrace. 

[RandoEFC+]

Man Utd's problem has been the same for about 7 years now. There are massive problems across the whole club that aren't a manager's job to fix. A lot of stuff had to be put in place for Man City and Liverpool to be able to compete consistently at the top of the table before Guardiola or Klopp got anywhere near those clubs. No managerial change is going to fix Man Utd.