Gameweek Who Can Keep Track? (Jan 14-18)

Jimy Hendrix

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SoSH Member
Jun 15, 2002
5,846
Calvert-Lewin/Rondon is a weird striker pairing choice.

Like a peanut-butter & peanut-butter sandwich except one of the peanut-butters is kinda rancid.
 

OCST

Sunny von Bulow
SoSH Member
Jan 10, 2004
24,483
The 718
Norwich hadnt scored in 9 hours of game time and got 2 in 2”

Own goal for Keane
Some Norwich teenagers first PL goal

Not flukes either

Norwich have been bossing us

we look awful, no shape no flow no spirit

no excuses about injury this is close to full strength

I’m here for it if it gets Tapa Tits axed but he’s cleaned out all his enemies and I don’t know if the owner has the guts to admit his mistake
 

OCST

Sunny von Bulow
SoSH Member
Jan 10, 2004
24,483
The 718
Calvert-Lewin/Rondon is a weird striker pairing choice.

Like a peanut-butter & peanut-butter sandwich except one of the peanut-butters is kinda rancid.
Rondon is terrible. Beyond terrible. And what you see now is a relatively match fit Rondon. When he started he hasn’t played in a year and that in China, granted he wasn’t supposed to play so many minutes and we’ve been decimated by injuries but he’s been putrid and Rafas insistence on running him out there again and again ahead of two promising academy kids is Exhibit A of his bullheaded nature.

Beyond disgusted.
 

Jimy Hendrix

Member
SoSH Member
Jun 15, 2002
5,846
Rondon is terrible. Beyond terrible. And what you see now is a relatively match fit Rondon. When he started he hasn’t played in a year and that in China, granted he wasn’t supposed to play so many minutes and we’ve been decimated by injuries but he’s been putrid and Rafas insistence on running him out there again and again ahead of two promising academy kids is Exhibit A of his bullheaded nature.

Beyond disgusted.
“Two targetmen and don’t hit it up to them much” is an esoteric tactical choice.
 

OCST

Sunny von Bulow
SoSH Member
Jan 10, 2004
24,483
The 718
I cant believe Arsenal lost to this Everton side. They are a MESS.
We were not quite as shambolic but the only reason we won was a minute of hero ball from Gray, which is the only way we’ve done anything good. Gray Gordon and Townsend in the cup game, moments of brilliance in 90’ of crap
 

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Sunny von Bulow
SoSH Member
Jan 10, 2004
24,483
The 718
As I was saying about individual moments of brilliance… Richarlison just after getting subbed in hits a bicycle kick to pull one back
 

OCST

Sunny von Bulow
SoSH Member
Jan 10, 2004
24,483
The 718
Still 2-1 Norwich at 90’, 7’ of stoppage, must admit I don’t want us to nick an equalizer because I want RB sacked
 

OCST

Sunny von Bulow
SoSH Member
Jan 10, 2004
24,483
The 718
Didn’t use the last sub.
Any other manager at any other club would be gone.
 

OCST

Sunny von Bulow
SoSH Member
Jan 10, 2004
24,483
The 718
Until now I'd only ever seen Traore with his shirt on. Holy shit.
He’s the football embodiment of Billy Beanes thing about not picking blue jeans models. His footballing abilities much less impressive than his physique would indicate
 

coremiller

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Jul 14, 2005
5,846
NLD postponed. Ridiculous.
Yeah this is getting stupid. COVID is a once-in-a-century event that requires unusual measures. But there shouldn't be any postponements due to factors not substantially caused by COVID. AFCON was of course predictable months/years in advance and non-COVID injuries are just a part of the game. If a team can't field a full squad due to non-COVID reasons then that's their problem and they should either forfeit or play the kids.
 

Morgan's Magic Snowplow

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Jul 2, 2006
22,345
Philadelphia
Yeah this is getting stupid. COVID is a once-in-a-century event that requires unusual measures. But there shouldn't be any postponements due to factors not substantially caused by COVID. AFCON was of course predictable months/years in advance and non-COVID injuries are just a part of the game. If a team can't field a full squad due to non-COVID reasons then that's their problem and they should either forfeit or play the kids.
Fully agreed. The PL should have written a policy along these lines and, having failed to do so, should formulate a new policy.

Until they do that, however, they should enforce the policy they wrote and do so consistently with how they have enforced it in the past. And that's what they did with Arsenal.

The only way in which the situation with Arsenal differs from many other requests is that Arsenal were actually honest and transparent about the number of Covid cases, unlike many other examples where teams basically did the exact same thing but were either intentionally vague or outright dishonest about their case numbers in an attempt to make it seem like they weren't primarily in that situation due to injury, fatigue, Afcon, etc.
 

Mighty Joe Young

The North remembers
SoSH Member
Sep 14, 2002
8,402
Halifax, Nova Scotia , Canada
Fully agreed. The PL should have written a policy along these lines and, having failed to do so, should formulate a new policy.

Until they do that, however, they should enforce the policy they wrote and do so consistently with how they have enforced it in the past. And that's what they did with Arsenal.

The only way in which the situation with Arsenal differs from many other requests is that Arsenal were actually honest and transparent about the number of Covid cases, unlike many other examples where teams basically did the exact same thing but were either intentionally vague or outright dishonest about their case numbers in an attempt to make it seem like they weren't primarily in that situation due to injury, fatigue, Afcon, etc.
Not trying to pick a fight with you but … which teams were dishonest about their Covid case numbers?