The 21/22 Football Thread

This Leicester City supporter thinks it is time Brendon Rodgers received his P45 !

Not because we lost to Roma last night in the semi-final of the Europa Conference League.

Not because we have had a poor season in the Premier League, mitigating circumstances here with a dreadful run of long-term injuries to 1st team players.

Why ? because Rodgers persists in playing (trying to play) , build from the back, tippy tappy, possession football. He is on record has saying " if you have the ball

the opposition cannot hurt you "

Sure it is the current trend, I suppose Man City are the arch exponents, and damm good they are too. Even Brighton (bless them) manage to play this way with a fair

amount of success. But Leicester City just do not have the players and probably do not have the coaching expertise to build a successful possession based team with these players.

When you see LCFC's game stats you will often see 60%, 70%+ possession, often when they have lost the game. Watch a match an understand why ?

Pass after pass across the back four, then get pressed and back it goes to Kasper Schmeichel, and then ' Deja Vu ' all over again. It is so frustrating/boring watching this.

When LCFC won the Premier League they won it with (from memory) the lowest possession percentage per game in the Premier League. Fast 'raiding' forward players

getting the ball early to Jamie Vardy 'et al' bloody good it was to watch too. Yes, Jamie Vardy is not going to replicate that form, bless him he has been on the 'downslope'

for a season and half now. However Barnes and Lookman are fast direct players who need 'early ball' to play to their strengths.

I am not an isolated voice here, vast swathes of LCFC supporters have been saying much the same for best part of 2 seasons now.

Come on LCFC management, save us from this sterile, tedious, dull derivative of the 'beautiful game' and show Brendon the door. His time is past.
 
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The problem is the current trend is to play the tippy tappy stuff, it's what we want, apparently. When Arsenal were in their hay day with Wenger at the wheel, the philosophy was very simple. Win the ball and pass it to Viera, he got it to Bergkamp, and then we had the pace of Henry & Lundberg, or the skill of Pires to finish. Not rocket science, and it worked very well.

In fact, how many goals do you see when the striker takes it first time? I'd bet a better ratio than when they've tried to be clever. Hitting it early gives the keeper little chance of settling before having to dive, and personally, I love seeing that type of football. It was to some extent, Theo Walcott's downfall. The ball was often played to his feet, which is pointless when you have a forward that can cover 100m in under 10 secs. Play it in front, let them run on to it, then hit it, when he did that, he was very good...
 
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Jelster said:
The problem is the current trend is to play the tippy tappy stuff, it's what we want, apparently.
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Hmm, really ? I doubt it's what many fans want, but as we come to realise that is not a big factor in a football managers decision. With the continued success of top teams aka Man City, Most top Spanish teams, Bayern Munich etc playing possession based football, most coachs who see success in their current 'job' as a stepping stone to the top teams need to play like this.
I think Brendon Rodgers greatly aspires to be a top 6 manager and continues to foister possession based football on Leic City when it is plainly not working and many of the 1st team squad do not have the techinical skills to make it successful.
 
redhed17 said:
I'm not sure Grealish is either is trusted by Guardiola, or fits into their system yet. He has, from what I have seen, come on as a sub to offer something different mostly.

If Cit€h were not having a(nother) very good season, getting so little return from a £100m player would be highlighted. As it is, Cit€h can blow £100m, and use the player for 35 games, so far, in a season, and get just 5 goals. In his best season for Villa, he only got 10 goals in 41 games. :oops: :$ Wow, £100m! :thinking:
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Which then begs the question why they bought him. Do you think he might be sold, then ? Paul Merson thinks it's a possibility.Below link.

I did a check to see what I could find. You'll find this an interesting and enlighhtening read. I really like watching Grealish and if City can't accomodate his skills then they should sell him and allow those superb skills to flourish.

www.teamtalk.com

Merson says Grealish could be sold and explains why £100m man has struggled

Paul Merson thinks Manchester City could sell Jack Grealish and says he is not surprised by his struggles since his £100m move last summer.
www.teamtalk.com www.teamtalk.com
 
cambsno said:
German atmosphere is brilliant and love the flares they use. When I went to a koln game there were loads of tough looking police so fans rarely overstepped the mark.
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Yes...I could almost see the stands 'rocking'. I haven't seen anything like that before. Must be quite intimidating for the opposition on the pitch. As you know those flares have been banned here for a long time but not so in European stadiums so they'll feature again,I assume.They did send a lot os smoke onto the pitch, though.

Richarlison is being investigated by the FA 'returning' one to the Chelsea fans during the May 1st game against Chelsea at Goodison Park..which Everton won.
www.mirror.co.uk

Richarlison flare toss being investigated by FA and could face three match-ban

Richarlison is in hot water with the FA after picking up a lit blue flare and throwing it back into the Goodison crowd as he celebrated Everton's winning goal against Chelsea
www.mirror.co.uk www.mirror.co.uk

Food for thought. https://inews.co.uk/news/scotland/p...s-gather-centre-george-square-glasgow-1003352

Maybe best to give any thoughts of violence a miss..lol .November 2021. Villareal v Manchestrer United.

fanbanter.co.uk

Spanish police slammed for treatment of Man Utd fans in away end at Villarreal - Fan Banter

Spanish police have been slammed for their treatment of Man Utd fans in the away end at Villarreal during the Champions League fixture. According to reports, Red Devils supporters were manhandled and charged at by heavy handed officers with batons striking some of the spectators. Manchester...
fanbanter.co.uk fanbanter.co.uk

I see that Frankfurt will be without their Austrian centre-back Martin Hinteregger as a result of a thigh injury he picked up playing against West Ham and had to be taken off. .A report report stated that he's been a key member of Frankfurt's squad this season, making 36 appearances in all competitions.

Here's his rating out of 100 for each category. https://www.futhead.com/21/players/671/martin-hinteregger/
 
badlywornroy said:
Hmm, really ? I doubt it's what many fans want, but as we come to realise that is not a big factor in a football managers decision. With the continued success of top teams aka Man City, Most top Spanish teams, Bayern Munich etc playing possession based football, most coachs who see success in their current 'job' as a stepping stone to the top teams need to play like this.
I think Brendon Rodgers greatly aspires to be a top 6 manager and continues to foister possession based football on Leic City when it is plainly not working and many of the 1st team squad do not have the techinical skills to make it successful.
Click to expand...

Klopp's Gegenpresse seems to be a successful strategy.The german word 'gegen' means 'against' So, literally, 'pressing against'. which translates on the pitch to immediately try to get the ball back after losing possession, but also trying to pressure the opponents into making a mistake in their half.

footballwhispers.com

Tactical Analysis: Jurgen Klopp’s gegenpress at Liverpool

Tactical Analysis: Jurgen Klopp’s gegenpress at Liverpool - Posted on March 17, 2023 in FW Exclusive
footballwhispers.com footballwhispers.com
 
Guardiola obviously has a plan for Grealish fitting in the team in mind, but it isn't apparent yet. :thinking: It could be the first season thing of players needing to adapt to a big move too. I'm not convinced though.

Imho, he was way overpriced for what his record suggests. :oops: :$ I just don't see where that value came from even with the added British player 'tax'. If it doesn't turn around for him then I can't see anyone else paying anywhere near that amount either, so he's there for the duration of his contract. Unless it goes down the Countinho route of being loaned out, not really making much of a consistent impact over a couple of loans to different clubs as the value drops dramatically. Cit€h don't tend to do that and can have £100m on the bench doing not very much.

Barca needed cash, and after seemingly deciding quite quickly that Countinho was not for them, have been hoping that his loan spells inspire teams to bid for him. Hasn't worked yet. I'm not sure he's done enough at Villa to get a move there.

And before anyone says that the £100m price tag came from what Villa would let him go for, I mean where was the consistent performances and goals to justify that amount. I doubt Cit€h were fighting many other teams for his signature. It still baffles me. He can be good on the eye, but pretty ineffective on the pitch.
 
Allegedly Arsenal were keen on Grealish but weren't interested in the value Villa put on him. Saying that, we paid £70M for Pepe, what were we thinking.....
 
JohnC6 said:
Richarlison is being investigated by the FA 'returning' one to the Chelsea fans during the May 1st game against Chelsea at Goodison Park..which Everton won.
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He wasn't 'returning' it to the Chelsea fans, it doesn't even say that in the link you provided so why do you think he was?
 
Allan.H said:
He wasn't 'returning' it to the Chelsea fans, it doesn't even say that in the link you provided so why do you think he was?
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Fair comment. I've now looked into it and there's a clip of the incident. It was a blue (Everton) flare. From the headline I assumed, wrongly, that a Chelsea fan had thrown it. The article said it was over exuberance by the Everton fans after the 1-0 win. It looks to me as though he's throwing it into the corner area not directly into the crowd infront of him.

Short clip..https://sports.ndtv.com/english-premier-league/everton-vs-chelsea-richarlison-throws-smoke-flare-back-into-stands-video-goes-viral-watch-2939585
 
Just looked at results. Brighton beat Man-U 4-0 :eek:

Chelsea drew 2-2 with Wolves

Crystal Palace beat Watford 1-0 so Watford are going down.

Just about to watch Liverpool v Spurs. 7.45 kick off. I wouldn'tr even try to forecast a win for either team. As with Arsenal..it depends on which Spurs turns up :D
 
We''l take a point at Anfield any day. A deflected shot by Diaz gave Liverpool their draw..It's really tight re 3rd & 4th position
Arsenal at home to Leeds tomorrow. 2.00pm. Should be three points there for them.
 
I have to say, the biggest applause has to go to Bristol Rovers who, by beating Scunthorpe 7-0, got level on both points and GD with Northampton, but pipped them into 3rd place to get promotion into League 1 on goals scored. What a day that must have been, in front of your home fans.... Football like it should be.


It's up to Arsenal today, 3 points will put a 1 gave safety net and hopefully keep them in 4th. Anything less is asking for trouble.
 
Jelster said:
I have to say, the biggest applause has to go to Bristol Rovers who, by beating Scunthorpe 7-0, got level on both points and GD with Northampton, but pipped them into 3rd place to get promotion into League 1 on goals scored. What a day that must have been, in front of your home fans.... Football like it should be.


It's up to Arsenal today, 3 points will put a 1 gave safety net and hopefully keep them in 4th. Anything less is asking for trouble.
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A bit tainted by scunny playing 6 kids. All registered and legel though. Well done Bristol.
 
Looks like Erling Haaland is going to Manchester City .His buy-out clause was £64m. City is rumoured to be paying him over £500,000 a week.

www.deseret.com

There is going to be a new highest paid player in the Premier League. How will his salary compare to best athletes worldwide?

Manchester City have reportedly agreed to terms with Borussia Dortmund’s Erling Haaland for over £500,000 a week.
www.deseret.com www.deseret.com
Rated as one of the best forwards in the game alongside Harry Kane, Kylian Mbappe and Robert Lewandowski.

We're lucky here that we have clubs in the Premiere League that can pay either the transfer fees or high wages or both for such players so we get to see them play in whatever way people watch..in person at the stadiums or through TV subscription. I can't recall seeing him play for Norway in any competitions as a player to keep an eye on ,probably because he played for the U-20sEg U-20s World Cup 2019. Can't even recall the competition tbh. He's 21 and was born in Leeds and then went to Norway when he was three. His dad played for Leeds under George Graham in 1997 playing in the UEFA Cuop semi-final in 1999-2000 season. Then to Manchester City.
 
JohnC6 said:
:ROFLMAO: Looks like Erling Haaland is going to Manchester City .His buy-out clause was £64m. City is rumoured to be paying him over £500,000 a week.

www.deseret.com

There is going to be a new highest paid player in the Premier League. How will his salary compare to best athletes worldwide?

Manchester City have reportedly agreed to terms with Borussia Dortmund’s Erling Haaland for over £500,000 a week.
www.deseret.com www.deseret.com
Rated as one of the best forwards in the game alongside Harry Kane, Kylian Mbappe and Robert Lewandowski.

We're lucky here that we have clubs in the Premiere League that can pay either the transfer fees or high wages or both for such players so we get to see them play in whatever way people watch..in person at the stadiums or through TV subscription. I can't recall seeing him play for Norway in any competitions as a player to keep an eye on ,probably because he played for the U-20sEg U-20s World Cup 2019. Can't even recall the competition tbh. He's 21 and was born in Leeds and then went to Norway when he was three. His dad played for Leeds under George Graham in 1997 playing in the UEFA Cuop semi-final in 1999-2000 season. Then to Manchester City.
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Roy Keane will sort him out :ROFLMAO:
 
Are you there,Steve ?...Yes..I see you are :) What happened there ? Arsenal fans leaving the stadium 5 minutes into the second half, too.

Rob Holding fouls Son twice (ref has a word with him) then a 3rd time and gets a yellow card and gets a second yellow for a 4th foul on Son and is sent off which means he'll miss Monday's vital game against Newcastle at St James' Park. That's 14 red cards Arsenal have had since Arteta took over.

Whether Spurs get 4th place is now in the hands..or should that be feet..lol..of Arsenal. I hope I don't see them miss out by a point because if they do,as I said a few posts back, the defeats to Brighton and Brentford might well cost them 4th place.The only ray of hope is that Holding is out for the next game ,Gabriel went off with a hamstring near the end and will Ben White be back from injury . He was on the bench but not used. So..I'll be tuning in to the Newcastle-Arsenal game on Monday evening but before that Spurs v Burnley on Sunday.
 
It's all a ruse John. We let you Spurs fans have some hope, only to take it away on the last day of the season... I see Kane got another of those penalties again.

I had a feeling that we would get a red card, we seem to be very good at getting them against Spurs & Man Utd (mind you, everybody seems to get them against Man Utd...). Spurs have better run in than Arsenal though.
 
andya700 said:
For a so called football supporter, you don't seem to know much about the game. Perhaps it is because I am a neutral, that I recognise the huge talent that Grealish is.

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6cEKVQGoSqY
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To be fair, I was watching videos like that of Pepe and thinking "Wow what a signing".... Grealish is very good, but a bit over hyped. I think next year will be his season, once he's had a chance to bed in.
 
Jelster said:
I had a feeling that we would get a red card, we seem to be very good at getting them against Spurs & Man Utd (mind you, everybody seems to get them against Man Utd...). Spurs have better run in than Arsenal though.
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If players are going round like Holding did last night then red cards should follow. He was lucky to stay on as long as he did. :oops: :$ :rolleyes: It's no conspiracy.;)
 
andya700 said:
For a so called football supporter, you don't seem to know much about the game. Perhaps it is because I am a neutral, that I recognise the huge talent that Grealish is.
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Did you think he was worth £100m? Now as a £100m player, do you think he has delivered enough this season? :thinking:

You may think, as a neutral, that he was worth £100m, and Guardiola obviously thought so too. And that's fine. :)

He has ability, and he can be exciting to watch, but end product, assists, but especially goals, are not, and as far as goals are concerned, have not been significant throughout his career. And that is why I was extremely surprised at how much he cost. I expected him to improve after the move, playing with better players, but has there been a significant improvement! :thinking:

In a related thought, I think Lukaku seemed to be worth the £95m considering what he did in Italy, but has he been worth that money this season? I don't think so, but if he goes and scores in the final tomorrow and wins them the cup, his poor season may not be as scrutinised. And the same with Grealish, Cit€h will probably win the league, and so will many be talking about what a £100m player has actually contributed if it is in a team that won the league! I doubt it, and also because Grealish is English, and well thought of in the media there will be less scrutiny.

And just to put Grealish's transfer into context, he is the 6th most expensive player ever. :oops: :$ :LOL:
 
Jelster said:
To be fair, I was watching videos like that of Pepe and thinking "Wow what a signing".... Grealish is very good, but a bit over hyped. I think next year will be his season, once he's had a chance to bed in.
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Liverpool were linked with Pepe for quite awhile before he moved. That was a bullet dodged. ;) :LOL:
 
redhed17 said:
Did you think he was worth £100m? Now as a £100m player, do you think he has delivered enough this season? :thinking:

You may think, as a neutral, that he was worth £100m, and Guardiola obviously thought so too. And that's fine. :)

He has ability, and he can be exciting to watch, but end product, assists, but especially goals, are not, and as far as goals are concerned, have not been significant throughout his career. And that is why I was extremely surprised at how much he cost. I expected him to improve after the move, playing with better players, but has there been a significant improvement! :thinking:

In a related thought, I think Lukaku seemed to be worth the £95m considering what he did in Italy, but has he been worth that money this season? I don't think so, but if he goes and scores in the final tomorrow and wins them the cup, his poor season may not be as scrutinised. And the same with Grealish, Cit€h will probably win the league, and so will many be talking about what a £100m player has actually contributed if it is in a team that won the league! I doubt it, and also because Grealish is English, and well thought of in the media there will be less scrutiny.

And just to put Grealish's transfer into context, he is the 6th most expensive player ever. :oops: :$ :LOL:
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He hasn't played that much this season, and £100m is the going rate for an English midfielder going to City, because when City come calling, the price goes up.... I still next season will be the one that defines him, either as something special, or just another over-hyped English talent.
 
Jelster said:
He hasn't played that much this season, and £100m is the going rate for an English midfielder going to City, because when City come calling, the price goes up.... I still next season will be the one that defines him, either as something special, or just another over-hyped English talent.
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I agree about next season, any player may need to adjust to a move, even if it is in the same country. Even if Grealish doesn't improve much though, if Cit€h keep winning things, and Grealish is happy with less playing time than he had at Villa, then they can afford to have £100m sitting on the bench. I doubt there would be anyone going anywhere near that price to take him off their hands, English or not. Mahrez has seemingly been happy not being a regular starter.

It will be interesting to see if Lukaku stays, and maybe improves next season. And it will also be interesting to whether the new Utd manages can get the best out of Sancho, another big money signing who has struggled. He was flying in Dortmund.
 
Totally agree about Sancho, he was full of promise, but then, when you have Ronaldo in your side, there will always be discontent. I heard a story that Gareth Bale was not allowed to score more than a certain number of goals, which was some part of Ronaldo's contract, that he must be top goal scorer. One wonders what the score is a Utd...
 
JasonPC said:
As a Villa fan, I'm trying to decide if we've got a potential bargain in Coutinho for 17m or are just wasting money on a sizeable wage for a has-been.
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It could be both. ;)

I didn't realise the Coutinho had been confirmed as going to Villa. :oops: :$ The chap has certainly been on a roller coaster ride since leaving Liverpool. Mostly on the down. :rolleyes: The 4th most expensive signing ever (£145m) goes for a fraction of that just 4 years later. He started well for Villa, and has shined occasionally, but he only needs to get to a consistently good level for it to be a bargain at that price. I think he will have had to adjust his wage demands given his position, you would think.

After seeing Buendia over the last few games I thought that may have been a reason not to get Coutinho.

Liverpool's history may have been different if he had not forced his move to Barcelona. Liverpool got a great deal from the free spending Barca, and spent it wisely on van Dijk and Alisson. :oops: :$ :clap: :banana:
 
redhed17 said:
After seeing Buendia over the last few games I thought that may have been a reason not to get Coutinho
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This is what worries me. I'm hoping we don't lose Buendia because Gerrard keeps playing his mates even when they are, on current form, second best. Maybe they will both play in a front three with Watkins next season. Hopefully that's SG's plan.
 
redhed17 said:
Liverpool were linked with Pepe for quite awhile before he moved. That was a bullet dodged. ;) :LOL:
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Bullet dodged ? Yes..it would seem so. I've just been listening to Newcastle v Arsenal..Newcastle won 2-0 to the delight of Spurs fans and the commentator was questioning the £72 million Arsenal paid Lille for Pepe (2019) and that he'd scored only one goal this season.

I found this: A copy/paste as you will gather.I don't write like this' :)

Nicolas Pépé is a forward who has appeared in 18 matches this season in Premiere League playing a total of 652 minutes. He scores an average of 0.14 goals for every 90 minutes that he's is on the pitch. This attacking performance currently places him at 131st out of 427 for Premiere League players who've played at least 3 matches.

This player scored a total of 1 goal so far in the season in the league, which places him at 13th in the Arsenal squad's top scorers list.
 
So..Newcastle 2 Arsenal 0. I've been listening to the game..I don't have Sky..and Arsenal didn't turn up. They suffered injuries during the game ..Tomiyaso had to go off..a vital defender and an own goal by Ben White. Arteta went with several forwards towards the end ..desperation but probably the right strategy..but of course it left the back weak and Newcastle scored a second. They almost scored another three. I can't see Arsenal doing much better against Everton in the last game of the season as Everton need the points. ..without checking the bottom 4.

Steve (Jelster)would be better placed to enlighten us re Arteta's team build with young players in the main. A lack of experience ...apart from a few players....has been suggested as a weakness. Granit Xhaka didn't disappoint re yellow cards but left it a bit late :D.That's 52 now since he joined Arsenal in 2016 (£35million) He's also had 4 reds and been sent off twice He's managed to clock up an impressive 263 fouls.:rolleyes:

All Spurs have to do next Sunday is draw with Norwhich at Carrow Road and that's if Arsenal beat Everton to bring them level on points at 69 each and because of the huge GD with Arsenal Spurs would go on to Champions League football next season .This will be vital to attract top players in the promised (to Conte) summer transfer window.
 
JohnC6 said:
So..Newcastle 2 Arsenal 0. I've been listening to the game..I don't have Sky..and Arsenal didn't turn up. They suffered injuries during the game ..Tomiyaso had to go off..a vital defender and an own goal by Ben White. Arteta went with several forwards towards the end ..desperation but probably the right strategy..but of course it left the back weak and Newcastle scored a second. They almost scored another three. I can't see Arsenal doing much better against Everton in the last game of the season as Everton need the points. ..without checking the bottom 4.

Steve (Jelster)would be better placed to enlighten us re Arteta's team build with young players in the main. A lack of experience ...apart from a few players....has been suggested as a weakness. Granit Xhaka didn't disappoint re yellow cards but left it a bit late :D.That's 52 now since he joined Arsenal in 2016 (£35million) He's also had 4 reds and been sent off twice He's managed to clock up an impressive 263 fouls.:rolleyes:

All Spurs have to do next Sunday is draw with Norwhich at Carrow Road and that's if Arsenal beat Everton to bring them level on points at 69 each and because of the huge GD with Arsenal Spurs would go on to Champions League football next season .This will be vital to attract top players in the promised (to Conte) summer transfer window.
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How has he had 4 reds but only been sent off twice? At least though he does more than headless chicken Elneny!

The issue is down to Arteta I think - games v Soton, Brighton, Palace, Spurs and Newcastle in the last 6 or 7 matches, all defeats. Not acceptable?
 
cambsno said:
How has he had 4 reds but only been sent off twice? At least though he does more than headless chicken Elneny!

The issue is down to Arteta I think - games v Soton, Brighton, Palace, Spurs and Newcastle in the last 6 or 7 matches, all defeats. Not acceptable?
Click to expand...

Of course..tiredness set in. Been a busy day.

The commentator made the comment that in the last 11 games [starting with Liverpool on March 16th ] Arsenal have won 5 and lost 6.
 
JohnC6 said:
Of course..tiredness set in. Been a busy day.

The commentator made the comment that in the last 11 games [starting with Liverpool on March 16th ] Arsenal have won 5 and lost 6.
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I think its the more recent run which is the concern. Spurs need 1 point away at Norwich... hardly going to mess that up!
 
cambsno said:
I think its the more recent run which is the concern. Spurs need 1 point away at Norwich... hardly going to mess that up!
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They'll have had a week to get the plan sorted out. As with Arsenal you never know but it seems inconceivable that they'd lose to Norwich. I expect Conte will have Pukki well-marked . Pukki's made 36 appearances this season and scored 11 goals.
 
Oh dear...

Not a good way to decide a game. Rangers did well to get there.
 
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