DebuchyAndTheBeast

I honestly think we're just generally bad at keeping possession, full stop. I was both surprised and unsurprised when I saw the dispossession stats placing us at the top. Surprised because we're still in the hunt for a Cl place, and it’s easy to exaggerate how bad our play can seem at times. But at the same time, I'm not shocked, especially after seeing how we barely exerted any control during the second half against Forest. It makes me wonder if it’s because we’re being too direct or because the whole team is careless in possession

I'm a bit ashamed to say this but I'd take Ashworth back in a heartbeat. Everything seems to have gone to shit since he left 😅

You could have an extreme case where the linesman is biased towards a team. He could give offsides for all tight offside goals scored against them and not raise his flag for tight offside goals they score. Therefore you'll end up with one team getting all the 50/50 calls. I'm for a change in the offside rule but Wenger's idea ,while favouring the attacker, doesn't solve the current issues with offside rules. I think that there should be a new offside rule where each half of the pitch would be divided into 6-9 rectangular areas. If a defender is anywhere inside one of those areas in his own half, an opposing attacker cannot be offside as long as he is also within the same area, even if he is behind the defender. It wouldn't eliminate tight calls but it would be easier for the linesman to judge compared to the current rule and may even give instant decisions with a semi-automated system. It would also be simpler for defenders compared to Wenger's rule because they would know where to position themselves to set up an offside trap. Games would also be more open and teams which defend close to their own goal would not be able to use the offside trap. The only disadvantages I think would be that a football pitch would end up looking more like an American football pitch and there would be more work for the groundsman when painting the new lines.

It's remarkable that despite our injuries and setbacks this season, we are still competing for a European spot. What's even more remarkable is that this is our second-highest scoring season since the Premier League was founded, and with four more goals, we could equal our record. Yet, we are nowhere near the top four, which shows how competitive the league is and that conceding silly goals has been our weakness all season. I think Manchester United could draw at Palace and will lose against Arsenal. So, the game at Old Trafford against them should decide who gets sixth place.

People who want to bin VAR must have the memory of a goldfish. This one is as bad as the Watford vs Reading ghost goal

I agree that it was a foul. No reason for BDB to stick his elbow out and catch the defender. As for the disallowed Wolves goal, I don't understand what O'Neill is whining about. His player was miles offside and just in front of the keeper.

I read somewhere that it's combination of factors. Their finances being hit by Covid19, their high wage to revenue ratio and profits being mainly driven by player sales which failed to materialise in the past 2-3 seasons. While FFP is definitely a thorn in our side, I can't say that I'm sorry for teams like Everton, Forest and now Leicester who are being penalised because they haven't managed their finances properly.

More technology such as unbiased AI to help refs and VAR and to eventually to replace them. Blue card only for unsporting fouls preventing goal scoring opportunities, where red card isn't awarded. Depending on where foul is commited play to be reset with all players X metres behind the ball, except the defending keeper who has to remain in his box and a player of the attacking team who can have a headstart to run towards goal. Would definitely help to stop deliberate fouls. In extra time, there should be a "shot clock" or an attack clock similar to basket ball to encourage teams to attack. It should penalise defensive teams who want to run down the clock and hope for a penalty shootout.

I always wanted to ask but is he the real Pardew?

I still think that improving the language or procedures won't change anything if the ref is always in a rush to restart the game. The new rule on added time just isn't compatible with implementing a proper VAR check.

I've just seen the disallowed goal in the Tottenham-Liverpool game and it has to be one of the worst (and funniest) decisions ever because not only it went to VAR check but they still made the wrong call in the end. ? I agree that there's a part of incompetence from some of the refs that results in these kind of VAR errors. But I also think that the new timewasting rule is to blame. It places additional pressure on the VAR team to reach a quick decision to prevent matches from exceeding the 100-minute mark. And as seen yesterday and probably will many more times this season, will result in a hasty and bungled decision taken

I thought that the Mbeumo handball should've been a penalty as harsh as it may seem. Didn't we have a penalty awarded against us for a similar handball in the same fixture last season where we won 5-1?

I would rate it as a 6/10. We have added depth to the squad and bought some young exciting talent. But I can't help feeling disappointed we couldn't sign Maddisson and Diaby who have signed for Top 4-6 rivals and seem to have already adapted to their new teams.

I have the impression that Arsenal approach players early and attempt to lure them away from their current clubs in order to negotiate a lower transfer fee. Maybe they're bluffing and they don't have the money ?

I'm reading this thread and some articles on the web and I'm not sure whether we're arguing about the same thing For Chelsea v/s West Ham: I think that VAR was correct to call for a review for a possible foul on the keeper Mendy and it's the ref who seems to have made a wrong/debatable decision. VAR aren't to blame unless they weren't showing the referee a favourable angle. Us vs Palace: I think VAR are to blame in our case because they only reviewed/ask the ref to review a single incident. If they review both and the goal is still chalked off with no penalty, I wouldn't have any complaints against VAR. I'm actually in favour of VAR and I think that unless we invent an AI which can take split second decisions and which can "see" everything on the pitch, there will always be wrong/debatable decisions due to human error or interpretation. But I don't think that we should just bin it like some on here

I don't understand why VAR decided to review a foul on their keeper but didn't question why Willock went crashing into him. If the ref decided to rule out the goal, VAR should have informed him at the very least to check for a foul on our player.

I would've rated it 9/10 if we hadn't lost Dubravka. It was frustrating that transfers for the likes of Ekitike, Diaby, Paketa, Maddison fell through but getting Isak is already looking like a coup. However I do feel that we still have weaknesses to address of we want to challenge for the Top 6

Arnautovic to Man Utd would definitely be the most surprising move of the summer window. I would have him here as backup for Wilson and I think he'll do okay for Man Utd. Rabiot on the other hand would just be a second-rate Pobga, a passenger during most matches.

I think that it will be harder to make predictions this season because the WC break in December. Some players will likely return from the WC exhausted or injured while those who remain will maybe need friendlies to stay fit. Premier League: Winners: Man City Runners Up: Liverpool 3rd-6th: Tottenham, West Ham, Chelsea, Arsenal Relegation: Leeds, N. Forest & Everton Newcastle United Where will we finish?: 9th Top Goalscorer?: Bruno

I'm genuinely surprised that we managed to sign him especially with AC Milan showing interest. Last year Brentford were beating us to the signing of Ajer who was one of our main transfer targets. Now if we can bring in a striker or right winger, I'd consider this window as a success

CL football. He currently holds the CL All-Time goal record (excluding goals scored in Qualifying rounds), one of the rare records he has over Messi. So he'll definitely move to a CL team try to defend it.

Hu-go Hu-go Ek-i-ti-ke Hu-go Hu-go Ek-i-ti-ke Hu-go Hu-go Ek-i-ti-ke Na Na Na Na Na.... (To Boro's Pigbag song)

I agree that St Maximin can be frustrating at times but he is still one of our best players. The fact that most of our attacks are down the left is proof that we are over reliant on him. If we can get a similar threat on the right wing then I'd expect St Maximin to get more goals and assists

Our defenders aren't that bad defensively but they are average or poor in other areas which limits how we can set up and play. They've improved under Howe and are ok in possession but aren't great. Sometimes they can give the ball away cheaply especially under pressure. They're also getting older and slower, so we usually can't push up and press teams effectively because we could get caught with a simple ball over the top. Also our fullbacks rarely contribute anything in attack barring Trippier...

Some people on here were saying that both Burnley and Everton wouldn't even reach the 35pts mark. Glad that we're already on 40+ points or we would've got dragged in the scrap given our remaining fixtures.