Has English Premier League football become too predictable and boring?

First topic message reminder :

In 1956-7, Ipswich Town Football Club was promoted from Division 3 (South) to Division 2 (what's now called the Championship). Its success continued, reaching Division 1 (when it really was Division 1 and not, in effect, Division 3), and becoming English champions in its first season in the top flight (1961-2). Admittedly, the team's success owed a lot to the brilliance of Alf Ramsey, who later became the only manager ever to lead England to World Cup victory, but we all know it couldn't happen now. Nobody in their right mind would expect Swansea to become Premier League champions this season, only a very small group of teams can possibly achieve that. Realistically, only about seven teams have any chance of finishing in the top four - isn't it all too predictable, and therefore boring?

It all comes down to money, like so many things in life. Manchester United supporters used to joke that the two best teams in Manchester were Manchester United and Manchester United reserves, but I doubt if they do that now after their recent 6-1 thrashing by Manchester City. So what's changed? Manchester City was taken over by a group of businessmen from Abu Dhabi and received an enormous injection of cash.

Wouldn't you prefer it if Ipswich Town, or maybe Swansea or Wigan, had a chance of being English champions?

You could probably buy the whole shop in Sports Direct for £50. My Dad saw Matthews play towards the end of his career. He basically just stood wide right shifted it half a yard and put a good ball in. Which is what Beckham made a career out of. And I'm not one of those who doesn't / didn't rate Beckham.

I am neither surprised , nor sorry, that we have probably lost Anelka from English football. Always an oddball, he will not be missed by me. Good riddance to a far from pleasant fellow who showed just how unpleasant he could be...

I don't know why more wasn't made of the fact he obviously lied about the 'Quenelle' (or however you spell it) gesture. His comedian mate is a well known anti-Semite.
He was a very talented player who was ill-advised almost from the off though. He wasted his career because of his brothers' (and possibly his own) greed. I'd like to think it bothers him but maybe not.

New Spirit of Friendship in Premier League(msn)

" I say, Mr Boyd, do you consider my colleague Mr Hart's flossing is up to scratch, old chap...?"

I'm sick of the Liverpool jizzfest already. It'll be unbearable should they actually win the league.

I have a theory whereby it suits the Premier League ( and much of the betting industry) for there to be a 'tight finish'. To that end, Liverpool have had to be assisted to keep a four-team interest for the title. Why else should a side be offered so many penalties over the course of a season ( just three in Sunday's match against the hapless Man Utd)?

I did post a while back ( see 15 February 2014) to say we should be very afraid of a Liverpool 'revival' since I could see this momentum beginning and a raft of all-too-helpful decisions going in their direction. Don't be surprised if the footy authorities have decided that it is 'their turn'.

It would come as no surprise whatsoever to me if we were to discover one fine day that the referees were complicit in  attempts to 'throw' the league. It has happened in other countries and I would not personally trust our line-up of whistlers any more than I would a rhino with an especially bad toothache...

Marriner all at Sea



" It's not my fault -those black chaps all look the same..."


  Following Mr Andre Marriner's pitiful performance last Saturday when he contrived to send off the wrong player in the Chelsea-v-Arsenal match ( mistaking Gibbs for Oxlade-Chamberlain) the Premier League have , predictably, given him another match this coming weekend. A calculated insult to Arsenal and football in general.

Marriner was even told at the time of his error by the guilty player , but in the usual manner of match officials , thought he knew best. Well he didn't and shows himself to be an arrogant bastard like so many of his kind...

I think the initial mistake wasn't so bad, but the fact he wouldn't reverse it was a terrible decision. Until the penalty kick was actually taken he could've done so. I think your assessment is pretty much spot on.

Another Saturday and another couple of helpful penalties for title contenders Manchester City and Chelsea - just to make life a little easier. Then there was the 'three yards offside' goal for City too, of course.

How many spot kicks - or those valuable awards near the edge of the area within 'Gerrard range' - will we see for Liverpool today at Upton Park, I wonder? All that diving practice mustn't be wasted after all! 

Yes, the contrived 'tight finish' is alive and well and we shall know soon enough when Manchester City go to Liverpool just who the authorities have decided should be the lucky recipients of the Referee's Charitable Award. Surely the Anfield faithful cannot be subjected to the spectre of a penalty kick given against them at home! It looks like the Reds are the 'Chosen Ones' this season.

Ah, modern football - there's so much money in it that there is no problem in buying the officials' favours...     

" How many spot kicks - or those valuable awards near the edge of the area within 'Gerrard range' - will we see for Liverpool today at Upton Park, I wonder?"

Who says the Premier League is not predictable?  It can only be a matter of time before somebody rumbles all this...   

Newcastle's season just keeps getting better

Clearly, Mike Ashley needs to spend more on referees...    

(msn)

" Sacre Bleu! Vy aren't ze refs giving Arsenal all ze penalties anymore? Vas it somezing I zed...?"

Sunderland. That's all I'm saying.

I thought this thread was about the Premier League...     

I'll set them up and you tap them in, Phil.
I almost feel sorry for them actually, especially the good lads who follow them (of which I know a few). It would be nice to see the 3 north-east teams in the Premier League and doing well (obviously with Newcastle doing the best out of the lot) but the way things are going I could see there being Tyne-Tees/Wear-Tees/Tyne-Wear derbies in the Championship the season after next. There's a lot of bitterness in the rivalries up here and it's partly borne out of the lack of success, i.e. it would kill Sunderland or Newcastle fans to see the other lot win something because it's been so long since either have seen silverware.

I'm looking forward to the spectacle of the great North-East titanic battles to come , so let's hear it for Hartlepool -v- Newcastle in the Division 2 play-off final...    

2014 Cup Final should be neither predictable nor boring - but there's a first time for everything.

Whatever it takes, Arsenal will grub it ( eg opposing player(s) sent off/ opponents denied a clear penalty / given a penalty or two themselves if all is 'not going well').

And in the Premier League, our chums Liverpool ( aka the Chosen Ones 2013/14 or Penalties'R'us)) will continue to benefit from decisions similar to that today as central defender Skrtl punched the ball away in the penalty box in the certain knowledge that the tame referee ( AND his 'assistant') would 'fail to see it'.

More predictions : against the odds, Norwich will stay up and those relegated will be  - Sunderland ( to Dan's chagrin), Cardiff and Fulham, each of whom must really try and find more justification for the soccer authorities to ensure more favours in future from those officiating at their games.  

All in all, more attention needs to be paid to the principles adopted by Pease Pottage FC, viz. : it is not the taking part which counts but how effectively we can cheat our way to victory...

Looks like Jose Mourinho has also seen through the cunning plan to present Liverpool the Premier League title ,by intimating that the referee of Chelsea's match with Sunderland deliberately assisted those Anfield Chosen Ones by spiking Chelsea's hopes for the top prize.

It's been coming for quite a while -as I may have mentioned!  Just about everything which could have been done for Liverpool has been delivered to their door. But why? 'Compensation' for Hillsborough on the much- trumpeted 25th anniversary? Who knows - but there is no disguising the almost unbelievable good fortune as penalty followed penalty while their major opponents are disadvantaged at every convenient turn. The only flaw in the plan has been the authorities' inability to mask the intent. Perhaps next season, eh...?    

The only enduring comment seems to be .... "We wos robbed"

To be fair I think Liverpool deserve it for their football although they'll have bought the league, just as everyone does / needs to now it would seem. A much better story, in my view and were it to happen would be Atletico Madrid winning La Liga on a tight budget (certainly compared to Real Madrid and Barcelona). They're 4 points ahead with just 4 games left now and they still have the chance to win the Champions League too. Winning either competition would be pretty remarkable but doing the double would be an incredible achievement.

" How did we both forget to post the cheque to the referee..."


Don't worry lads - 'you'll never cheat alone' - they'll still find a way to bring that title to Anfield for you...!

Corruption in Football is one of the few instances where the "trickle-down" theory may actually seem to work.

Gerrard's immortal words after the Man City game: "This does not f**king slip now".

Manchester City will drop points at Goodison next week and let the Reds back in for a thrilling finish which will see an Anfield triumph after all!

More predictions soon, including how Newcastle will narrowly miss out on a European place...       

I think Liverpool still have a decent chance. I could see them and Man City both drop points though - against Crystal Palace and Everton respectively which would bring Chelsea back into it. The Liverpool fans moaning about Chelsea's tactics are hilarious mind. Apart from the minor detail that they didn't play very well, they have incredibly short memories. They thought it was fine when Houllier 'parked the bus' at Camp Nou on their way to winning the Uefa Cup and Benitez did it plenty of times (including against Chelsea in the CL semi the year they won it). That's without even getting into how cynical they could be in the 70s and 80s.

One commodity which is not in short supply in soccer is good old hypocrisy!

I thought it was interesting that the referee at Anfield yesterday ( one of the customary dead-legs) was pointing to his watch to signify he had noticed Chelsea's alleged time-wasting as early as about the 20th minute! That must be something of a record in itself!

Had the Flanagan handball have been a Chelsea defender, I can't believe that the Reds would not have had a penalty - the lad's arm was outstretched even if the shot was from point blank. As they say : 'I've seen them given' - but only , of course, when the man in the middle wants to give it! Disgraceful - no wonder managers get incensed!

I still say Liverpool will sneak it - the 'fates' are still rooting for them.

Finally - how long before Pardew gets the tin-tack?      

Re: Pardew I think it might be the summer. I think that whilst Ashley is reasonably pleased as long as the club is in the Premier League with a low wage bill (in relative terms) the last two seasons have really exposed Pardew's limitations in turning things round when there are a bad run of results. In both we've experienced long spells of what can only be described as 'relegation form' and another drop out of the top flight would undo most of the good work done since coming back up. When I say 'good work', I specifically mean in terms of the behind the scenes finances.
Another reason is that NUFC have a policy of buying players from the continent who are reasonably young, cheap and with good potential in terms of making a profit if/when they've proven themselves in England. I think the penny will probably have dropped by now that Pardew isn't the best at bringing out the best in these players.
Having said all that, since he bought the club, Ashley's intentions and plans have been impossible to read so who knows?

The Premier League :

DON'T BE FOOLED! It's still not over despite what the papers etc. are saying - the 'fates' have conspired to ensure that the title race will , after all, go down to the final day whatever happens during this week.

Loads of cash still to be made by the Bookies and can't you just smell an upset still to come in Liverpool's favour?!   

Not sure I fully buy into your theory, Phil It'll be interesting if Villa get a result tomorrow though.

What theory would that be, Dan?   

All I know is that there are further twists to come - whatever Villa do tomorrow.

That there's a pro-Liverpool conspiracy at work. Anyway, I'll leave it at that until after the season's finished as I don't want to tempt fate

The feared Curse of Hornby has worked to ensure Norwich's demise ( richly-deserved for all those mysteriously frequent 'last minute winners'  two or three seasons back!), and whether my powers will extend to Liverpool on Sunday remains to be seen...     

That aside, we do have the 'last day tension' scenario so beloved of those impeccably-fair football authorities. Where would the great game be without a bit of stage -managed marketing and promotion...?

If Man City are winning comfortably (given the relegation issue is already decided too) it will be 'funny' seeing Sky trying to make a big deal out of whether or not Man Utd can pip Spurs for 6th, if Stoke can pip Newcastle for 9th etc.    

The question may also be whether Pepe Mel or Solskjaer will be sacked ahead of Pardew!

And can you believe that Sunderland escape? ( if I dare mention it).

Sunderland did fantastically well to stay up and they thoroughly deserved it. Well played to them and I mean that sincerely. I have a few mates and colleagues who are Mackems so, although I always want to beat them (obviously) I don't get a big kick out of their misfortune. A better scenario all-round would see all the North-East clubs achieving some success (as long as we have more than the other two!). We're all in a bit of a sorry state though (the big three - us, Boro and Sunderland). The latter did great but they've spent a lot of money and in the last few seasons they've usually flirted with relegation. Boro have never really looked like coming back up since they went down with us a few seasons back and the less said about our owner's drive for mediocrity the better.

Rarely have we seen a more disgraceful attempt to manipulate a match as we saw from referee Dowd at Anfield today. He did all he possibly could to get a lacklustre - and trailing - Liverpool back in the game - even to the extent of awarding two very dubious free-kicks in prime 'Gerrard' positions and dismissing TWO Newcastle players.

He should feel embarrassed and ashamed, but we can be sure that the wretched skunk doesn't. But all in vain, as the curse of Hornby prevailed once more due to a Manchester City win .

But please -  next season can we have a competition which is not 'managed' by creative refereeing decisions. Just for once, eh...?   

'Slipper' Gerrard's Cri-de Coeur...

(standardmedia.co)

" Handball!...Offside!...Foul!...think of something ref for Pete's sake..."

Phil Hornby wrote:-
against the odds, Norwich will stay up…….Manchester City will drop points at Goodison next week……I still say Liverpool will sneak it…..can't you just smell an upset still to come in Liverpool's favour?!

Whilst I agree with you 100% about the corruption in the Premier League (I don’t know why Dowd bothered with yellow cards for those three other Newcastle players, when he could have just sent off five of them), I’m relieved that your predictions are so awful. Keep telling us that the Tories will win the 2015 election and I’ll be very relieved!