Lads, it's the Premier League thread - EPL 2019/20

the game will be harder next year when each player is fitted inside a human sized hamster ball

i've kinda been assuming (based on nothing) that if next season does go ahead most teams will stick rather than twist in the expectation of some kind of stoppage during the season for pandemic related reasons.

based on that scenario there are a couple of obvious teams that have already improved from last season and during this season that should continue that next ie chelsea, wolves , man utd.

but like noodle said nothing is a given in football during normal times let alone now.

my main ish with Chelsea would be about younger players keeping form two seasons on the bounce but as SV has pointed out they've strengthened. at some point can't help but think Abramovich will get his oar back in, too. biggest concern for the Wolves is whether we can hold onto our biggest guns and push on - no concrete reason to think not, but good as Fosun are they're not in it for the love of the game

have to imagine Jimenez and Traore are going to be heavily courted

we don't *need* to sell, it might be hard to persuade them if they wanna go, Champions League might make a difference there but more likely to be about money. it's easy to get paranoid about journalist/agent chat now, which is a nice place to be. keeping Nuno still my number one wish tbh

my main issue with nu-chelsea is kepa, think he is mignolet(tho not quite karius) level

unless erik garcia is really rated i think pep/city will make an offer that can't be refused for varane or koulibaly which will help but still have a cdm problem in that rodri is no ferandinho and fernandinho is no fernandinho anymore either

think he showed that last night

obviously adama and raul will be drooled over but i'm not convinced they'll leave this summer, i'm probably over romanticising it because football is about cash and players (rightly) wanna get paid but nuno seems like he is fun/inspiring to work for and another year of establishing himself as a stater/star probably wouldn't hurt traore's options

Adama feels like he's a bit mercenary to me, never had time in his career to really settle. Raul is reaching an age where he might wanna capitalize on his excellent Prem form. don't hold either of this against them, just a nerviness from being in an unaccustomed postion, like i said.

push comes to shove a lot of our fans are deeply in love with Adama this season and yeah that's understandable but given a Sophie's Choice i'd rather hang on to Neves.

entirely possible we can hang on to everybody that we want to.

It's going to be a good summer for keeping hold of yr best players I think.

i don't think anybody's out of contract, so all being well we'll be playing those lads in the Champion's League come whenever

I meant more in general really - I don't think there's going to be much transfer activity full stop. In theory you're more vulnerable than most clubs to players and agents agitating for a move but you're also very much moving in the right direction anyway and should be able to keep the team together for another year, Champions League or otherwise.

I suppose a few clubs might come to the conclusion that the only way to make up the shortfall is through player sales but it's also gonna be a buyers market so idk.

like i said earlier everything's crazy unknowable at the moment? in theory a lot of deals should've happened already, but it'd be mad to spend tens of millions without knowing whst next season will look like

Mou is on it.

https://www.standard.co.uk/sport/football/tottenham-mauricio-pochettino-maurizio-new-contract-a4480956.html

also thanks for reminding me we're the dinner time kick off, in my head i was waiting til 5-ish

Loan market might be crazy though especially as clubs look to cut their wage bills. But yeah, god knows when anyone will be watching football in a stadium again and until then throwing money at anything other than the most no-brainer signings isn't a gamble worth taking.

oof waking up at 7:30 am to watch this is a doozy but go Wolves

still trying to find a stream but yeah come on me babbies

Ok i*m in now

Also shit on the Villa

Also fuck BT

Wolves a bit sloppy in possession at points, but the fact that they are once again a position to stick Adama on to massacre Neil Taylor whenever they're ready tells you everything you need to know about this one

Fucksake

That would have been a comedy goal

woulda been an MLS quality gaffe.

Nyland has that Enckelmann energy to him, haunted, hapless

DONK

damn almost the brace there

missed it because other unhappy stuff

shd play this out from here

there it is!

so we put a Donk on it?

Ings moves ahead of Salah and Aubameyang, one behind Vardy.

I thought this might be a winnable game for Watford but they’ve been really poor.

Just turned it on in time to see them pull one back and then tragically concede the free kick, such a shame for them.

Sane has signed for Bayern

Clive Tyldesley says "proper training" is needed for pundits after a study found "evident bias" in some broadcasts relating to the skin tone of players.

Tyldesley, main football commentator for ITV, said on YouTube he had written to the Professional Footballers' Association about the matter.

He also questioned whether ex-players may have contributed to the findings.

"Co-commentators, ex-players, their members, may well have contributed to the stereotyping," he said.

"I mentor undergraduates. I discuss the business, the purpose of commentary with them - does anyone discuss that with the co-commentators who step straight off the field and pick up a mic?

"Most of the opinions and judgements you hear during commentaries come from the co-comms, they don't come from me, the lead comm."

well now

a piece of commentary that's always stuck in my head: Tyldesley referring to the "languid Samuel L. Jackson (?) style" of Nwankwo Kanu

Greenwood really is an unbelievable finisher

Yeah he made that look easy

Bit of a soggy chip bag performance from Brighton there

Aye I was about to say ffs

Okay that was fucking greay

Um greaT

lol I hoped you meant greasy

greasy lightning

Newcastle gifted a goal inside five minutes.

Bournemouth relying on Solanke (0 goals in 36 matches) and King (4 in 20) to get them back into it.

Foxes two down already

oof Leicester getting a doing, that 3-6 is still open

snap

I would love it - love it - if Wolves finished 3rd.

lol me too but even ignoring the run-ins United and probably Chelsea can't be caught. interesting wobble from Leicester tho.

would dearly love one or both of the first two to snap but no way i'd put money on it.