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Premier League 2009-10 Season

Manchester City finally played a game that didn't end in a draw. After 7 straight ties, they beat Chelsea 2-1. That moves their record to 6-7-1, good for 6th place. Now if they can make winning a habit, they might do something this year. Their one loss is still best in the league (three teams have three losses).
 
yonk15 said:
Yeah, I have Comcast cable. We get the Sports Package which comes with Fox Soccer Channel, they show lots of games. ESPN2 has also started picking up games this year. I think they're going to have Aston Villa/Chelsea at 6:45 am Central on Saturday. Should be quality!
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I have comcast also and my cable bill is already a nightmare a month and I don't have *&%$. how much more does the sports package cost over just basic cable?
 
Just heard that Mark Hughes is in the hot seat after the loss to Tottenham. I wish the team that beat Chelsea last week would show up every week! It looked like it vs Sunderland this morning, going up 2-0 in 12 minutes but then the old City came on the field and the game got back to 2-2, 3-2 and 3-3 before they finally won 4-3.
 
Hughes got sacked today. Roberto Mancini takes over.
 
Sounds like a great coach, 140-61-26 with Inter Milan. 26 losses in four years is not bad at all. I had never heard of him, but my wife has.
 
City wins 2-0 over Stoke in it's first game under the new coach. They play again Monday at Wolverhampton on ESPN2.

Still think the way Hughes got fired was pretty low by the owners. Imagine getting fired for being right where they wanted to be in the standings. And that was with 8 straight draws and they were still in sixth place. I her the new goal is fourth. Could be attainable with Liverpool having a poor start.
 
NEVER GET TO SEE ANY GAMES HERE.

this morning I caught Birmingham City vs. Chelsea play to a draw. Drogba is just a beast. he actually runs through people. he got to some balls he had no business getting to today.
 
Liverpool won today as well....saving Fat Rafa's skin for a little longer.

he is such a numpty! We have a squad that *could* win the prem, but under his misguidance is now out of europe and struggling to get 4th....AAAAaaaaaRRRGgghhhh
 
City wins their third in a row, this time 3-0 over Wolverhampton.
 
Smallville said:
City wins 2-0 over Stoke in it's first game under the new coach. They play again Monday at Wolverhampton on ESPN2.

Still think the way Hughes got fired was pretty low by the owners. Imagine getting fired for being right where they wanted to be in the standings. And that was with 8 straight draws and they were still in sixth place. I her the new goal is fourth. Could be attainable with Liverpool having a poor start.
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His team had no discipline, the shape was poor, players didn't work together and IMO an overall mess on the pitch...that the individual talents are what they are is the only reason that they've done as well as they have...


Mancini has his work cut out...prima donnas like Tevez and Robinho don't take well to not making team selections, Bellamay is vocal in the locker room currently leading a team protest over the sacking; reports are that he and Given are looking to get out in the January transfer window...

Everyone is still playing for their places, trying to impress the new manager...we'll see how things settle after the Xmas blitz...
 
paulthewitt said:
Liverpool won today as well....saving Fat Rafa's skin for a little longer.

he is such a numpty! We have a squad that *could* win the prem, but under his misguidance is now out of europe and struggling to get 4th....AAAAaaaaaRRRGgghhhh
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Don't kid yourselves...you guys are stuggling to get into Europe at all...
 
bigvivec said:
Don't kid yourselves...you guys are stuggling to get into Europe at all...
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4th spot is the last spot in europe in my opinion......UEFA is a joke.

Such a shame....people keep saying that Fat Rafa won us the champions league and the FA cup. Watch the games again and your see complete tactical stupidity. Simply put Steven Gerrard won us both the titles virtually single handed. Only thing Rafa fluked was subbing Smicer onto the field....who then scored. It was the one time in the previous 3 years he had done anything worthy of note!!! lol
 
City beat Middlesbrough 1-0 in third round FA Cup play today. Didn't look good at all the first half.
 
Today's win didn't contribute to it but City is in 5th place with a game in hand.
 
Smallville said:
Today's win didn't contribute to it but City is in 5th place with a game in hand.
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They've a long way to go...too many prima donnas; I look for them to crash and burn if a leader doesn't emerge, and I don't mean Mancini...
 
They do have a ways to go. Can't build a winner just by throwing money at it. They gotta play well together. And they can't keep having games like yesterday where they win but it looks bad for over half the game. I don't think changing coaches every year is the answer, Mancini is the third coach since they have started having money to spend. I hope they don't spend money on any strikers this transfer window. They need defense in a bad way.
 
Leeds just took ManU out of the FA Cup in the THIRD ROUND! Never happened to Sir Alex before. I couldn't believe MU missed so many chances to equalize.
 
C-Tech said:
Leeds just took ManU out of the FA Cup in the THIRD ROUND! Never happened to Sir Alex before. I couldn't believe MU missed so many chances to equalize.
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Where's Filey!?!? He's got to be lovin' it and boozing it up with the rest of Leeds...they haven't had much to cheer about lately...


Not really happy about how the FA Cup has been going the route of the Carling Cup lately with the big sides rolling out less than their best, often letting reserves make their debuts and fielding teams that wear the club's jersey but are otherwise unrecognizable...it is losing it's importance...like so many things money plays a big part; winning the league, getting into Europe, getting in high enough not to have to play qualifiers, and making that big worldwide champions league money to pay for the big names on staff and expanding the brand is the name of the game now and the FA while venerable, doesn't have the draw, exposure or the consequent importance tied to it other than for the English players who fulfill schoolboy dreams on reaching Wembley...you can see it in the player's eyes that winning the FA means something, but for the top clubs (as reflected in the manager's team selections) they have bigger fish to fry and I think it's a shame...it hasn't reached the level of the Carling, but it's not far away IMO...
 
Fat Rafa…

Where to start? His rotation policy that had him basically throwing games away seemingly randomly all so the rotation policy stayed intact? Carrying on with Jamie Carragher who has obviously lost a couple of steps and while a fantastically skilled and clever defender has to resort to arm tackles now as strikers race past him? How about a couple of years ago when he decided that Gerrard, the heart and soul, would be better suited on the wing…sure, he wanted to have Sissoko and Gerrard on the pitch at the same time, but there had to be a better way…So maybe his budget isn’t or hasn’t been big enough to compete toe to toe with ManU and Chelsea, but he has had good teams with bona fide world class superstars…you’re right in saying their European success came in spite of Rafa; Stevie G will never walk alone after bringing the Cup to Anfield on his back…if they don’t make the REAL Europe (C-League) I have a feeling it is only the start of real troubles for Liverpool…Gerrard is dyed in the wool, but without Champion’s League matches on the sched, I’d look for Torres to sever ties along with Mascherano…I’d love to see Babel actually getting playing time somewhere; he’s an underutilized lighting rod…


Of course, who am I to criticize!?!?! My blues have a stubborn manager who can’t see that he’s gotten the shape all wrong, has the opposite of Rafa’s rotation policy and has managed to run the boys into the ground just in time for the African Cup of Nations…Joe Cole is still hiding Joe Cole and hasn’t regained the touch that made him and automatic national selection, not even close, yet he still gets the money spot behind the strikers while Lampard is mired out in no man’s land somewhere between the wing and nothing…he’s no Seedorf and needs to be in the box, not 35 yards out…without Essien holding the center of the park of course the defense looks like it’s struggling and they are considering that Mikel might be Nigerian for “Welcome Mat”…things looked promising in September, what with the overlapping runs of Botswinga and A. Cole keeping the width, opening up the center for everyone to operate, but with the departure of the first choice right back so did the overlap which at the start of the season Angelotti claimed to be the key to his somewhat controversial formation’s success…so now we’re left with a narrowed pitch, trying to force the ball down the center where everyone converges going forward yet seems to run from on the defensive, crossing our fingers hoping that Drogba runs over three defenders and scores vs. a clever buildup…Caravallo is a shadow of what he was two years ago before injury, Terry’s heart has dried out somewhat from wearing it on his sleeve too often, Lampard is wandering and wondering in his positional wasteland, Ballack apparently vacations where Carragher does and seems to left his legs there along with Jaime, Malouda is less consistent than a golfer and Mikel is the only defensive midfielder who can neither tackle or shoot…Essien is injured and Drogba is off to Africa where the entire continent will be trying to break his ankles and he’ll not miss a minute of a game…I’m down to Kalou and the junior reserves now…they haven’t been the best footballing side in the league over the past few years; Arsenal and ManU play prettier and more clever football…but no one can argue their effectiveness, much like a heavyweight waiting to throw the knockout punch Chelsea has been able to close even against the run of play…as selfish as Shaun Wright Phillips was as least he kept the width and could run at defenders, something that none of the current players seem to be able to do…Robben and Duff, both left for greener pastures and more playing time from Jose’s overloaded bench and are sorely missed as well now with the disappearing acts of J. Cole, Malouda and Kalou…Chelsea needs a winger or two to open things up, they need Botswinga to return and the thick necked Ivanovic to take over for Caravallho and Terry in turn as it is a more natural position for his thick neck, aerial prowess and confrontational tackling and leave the clumsy Alex out of things, Essien needs to get back and Lampard needs to be where he scored 15+ league goals / year forever for the Blues in the slot behind Drogba with Anelka in the hole next to him…Drogba running on his own like a lion up front, Lampard and Anelka slotted in behind on either side, two men running the wings from a 4-3-2-1 shape and I think that my boys could flex their muscles again…why hasn’t anyone asked me!?!?!? :lol: As it stands, I wouldn’t want to face Brunley, let alone Inter…got our work cut out for sure…

…and Cech needs to stop diving into goalposts…I just closed my eyes last week after he plowed himself into the post and asked myself “Hilario!?!?!” My boys aren’t making it easy, and with Arsenal one striker away from being the team to beat I’m hoping for more spending during January; what’s another 70million!?!? If we’re going to buy the league, let’s do it proper!


Rant over, passion still bubbling…
 
Speaking of the Carling Cup, City plays United on Wednesday in the semi finals. May not mean much for United (although after getting booted from the FA Cup might motivate them), but City needs to win some hardware.
 
No Carling Cup games today or tomorrow. I guess Northern England has had the worst snows in years so they pushed all the games back a couple of weeks. Bad for City because United had some injuries. Of course, so did City.
 
Take a look at ManU's mid Feb schedule...worse luck for them...
 
Liverpool needs a field general in the middle of the park. There seems to be no one with any imagination feeding the forwards. If it gets done, Torres has to drop back into midfield to do it. That takes him out of the action in front of goal so they lose their most creative striker. Mascherano is great as an enforcer and destroyer in midfield, but he can't make the probing pass out of midfield to start the attack. Benayoun is great, but he is a forward, not a midfield creator. I don't know what Rafa is going to do, but they need that one "master of the midfield" or they can write off European football starting in 2010.
 
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