the Barclays English Premier League thread

[Frozenfireside]

GLORY GLORY MAN UNTD

Chelsea all the way!

Dont miss sunday's game when chelsea drive the stake even further into liverpool

Sorry what?

Fernando Torres struck two late goals at Anfield to sink Chelsea and ensure Liverpool kept up the pressure on Premier League leaders Manchester United.

[naughty]

congrats to liverpool on the win - torres is a terrific player - so congrats to him for scoring twice - and Benayoun again came to liverpools aid by making that second goal but he was excellent from the time he came on

this result as i said tactically still suits united though IMHO - time will tell though but its now game on

BTW IMHO Bosingwa should have been sent off for kicking Benayoun at the corner flag and Frank Lampard was unjustly sent off cos it was actually Xabi Alonso who committed the foul there - have a look at it again - ive looked at about 5 times - alonso kicked out and lampards leg may have been raised but it was below the ball - so it should have been a yellow card for either player - so im sure it will be rescinded soon - but Bosingwa deserves a 3 match ban for blatant unsportsmanlike behavior that really brings the game into disrepute

[Frozenfireside]

BTW IMHO Bosingwa should have been sent off for kicking Benayoun at the corner

YEHA HOW FRIKKEN BAD WAS THAT!? Straight in the back! Not so much as "how's your uncle?"
Amazingly rough.

Yeah it might suit Man U. if you look at it but we will see. Liverpool and Chelsea need Man U. to drop a couple games now. Here's hoping.

Edit: I saw the red card tackle replay. It was incorrectly given as a red card as he did play the ball.
I think both players might have received a warning (maybe a yellow for Alonso for playing the man) but Lampard got the card for being horizontal and nothing else.

Both were very rash attempts at controlling the ball.

[naughty]

Liverpool and Chelsea need Man U. to drop a couple games now. Here's hoping.

would appreciate if you didnt call them manU - theres a negative connotation to that - if you look in the liverpool thread ive stated the reason why somewhere there

as for united dropping some games - i have to say that it is entirely possible - the way they are playing now ie only one nil wins and occasionally going into a gear higher than first is not satisfactory to me - so for sure they will drop points - the question is how many points are liverpool and chelsea also going to drop thats going to be the question - ie the silly little points that disappear against the lower teams from all the big four sides that is increasing in intensity this season - united had a habit to beat the bigger sides ans slip up at the smaller teams - but now that we havent taken all the points that we normally would from the bigger sides ie we normally beat arsenal and liverpool and we lost both those games - so we cannot afford many more slip ups

but really the real chase is about to begin - up to now its only all been preliminary and around mid march the league should really be shaping up close to how it will finish - so interesting times ahead - remember also that we play our game in hand against fulham on the 18th - then you can see a truer reflection of our current points situation ie when we have played the same number of games as everyone else

Both were very rash attempts at controlling the ball.

maybe .... but sliding in to get the ball is legal - kicking out at the player isnt - so maybe both should have just gotten yellows or warnings - chelsea are appealing so lets see what happens about it

as an interesting aside - the FA cannot do anything about Bosingwa cos they cant change a decision if an incident was seen by match officials - and the ref did not see it but the linesman did - therefore the linesman admitting that he saw it means that the FA cannot do anything about it - brilliant huh - some rules are so stupid they make a mockery of the game - and Bosingwa truly deserves to sit out a couple of games and reflect on the fact that he is not a true "sportsman" - but he wont cos the rules are on his side

And Keano is looking at Spurs

keane has left the building as far as anfield is concerned - he is back at White Hart Lane now - move occured 33 minutes after transfer deadline closed - but it was allowed due to the inclement weather and the possibility that medicals could have been delayed - there has been a case by case look at delays in the transfers and some might still be allowed very late on

[naughty]

mike riley admits his mistake - lampards three match suspension is overturned - but that didnt help chelsea's cause when they were reduced to 10 men on the day - nevertheless even a blind man could see that liverpool were the only ones out to win that game - and i think they would have won with lampard on the field anyway

the only thing i still cant get over is the condoning of bosingwa's actions - there is no way that what he did should go unpunished - if i was his club id fine him two weeks wages at the very least to do what he did

other transfer news - Ricardo Quaresma joins chelsea on loan and Andrei Arshavin has been signed by arsenal and that will be ratified today (tuesday) - its been a quieter transfer window then usual

[Frozenfireside]

Keane seals £12m Tottenham return

Pity-I really liked him as a player.

Man Utd 1-0 Everton

5 points difference. Weak.

[naughty]

Man Utd 1-0 Everton

5 points difference. Weak.

i dont get that - are you saying that it was weak of us to beat a side that your side drew with twice in one week and that too was only one week before we played them - so how would you rate the liverpool performance against everton then ???

[Frozenfireside]

No. 5 points a drift is weak as we need to catch up. Hence I said "5 points difference. Weak." and not "Man U. vs. Everton. Weak."

Understand?

[naughty]

No. 5 points a drift is weak as we need to catch up. Hence I said "5 points difference. Weak." and not "Man U. vs. Everton. Weak."

Understand?

oh okay - yeah i do - but it isnt 5 points at the moment - its only two cos we can still lose that game in hand at fulham - after that article was written you guys won that chelsea game so its only 2 points adrift and the only thing that potentially brings it back to 5 is the game in hand but thats not a guarantee since we could lose or draw that game - those guys are playing okay at the moment - even the teams at the relegation zone are dangerous cos they can beat anyone when their survival depends on it

so whatever i may say about the advantageous situation united are in its still early days yet - in fact im happy we more-or-less caught up after our terrible start to the season - as ive stated elsewhere though it doesnt pay to peak to early cause that good form can just drift away - its far better to have a weak start so you can have a really strong finish so im not writing pool of yet cause they also finish strong normally - but the momentum has definitely for the moment shifted - its now a matter of 4 games ie for liverpool to recover 5 points united need to lose two and liverpool need to win two at the same time - but best chance you guys have is to beat us at Old Trafford yet i cannot see that happening this season though - its taken you'll three years to beat us at Anfield - but then again the ball is round - so its not all written in stone but yep united have the upper hand for the moment

[Frozenfireside]

In order: Played games, goal difference and then points

1 Man Utd 24 31 56
2 Liverpool 25 25 54
3 Aston Villa 25 16 51
4 Chelsea 25 29 49
5 Arsenal 25 13 44
6 Everton 25 6 40
7 Wigan 25 2 34
8 West Ham 25 -1 33
9 Man City 24 10 31
10 Fulham 23 3 30
11 Sunderland 25 -6 30
12 Hull 25 -15 29
13 Newcastle 25 -9 27
14 Bolton 25 -10 27
15 Tottenham 25 -5 25
16 Portsmouth 24 -16 24
17 Stoke 25 -19 24
18 Blackburn 24 -13 23
19 Middlesbrough 25 -18 22
20 West Brom 25 -23 22

Update: Friday the 13th of Feb 09.

[naughty]

okay - united played the game in hand against fulham last night - result = 10 games of only wins no draws in that unbeaten run - only wins - a new record of 14 games of clean sheets and if edwin van der sar keeps a clean sheet for the first half of the game that we play blackburn on saturday it will be new european record (need 7 games more of clean sheets for a chance at world record which i think is a really tall order

but as it stands united are 5 clear with a superior goal difference over liverpool and having played the same number of games - and also having to lose 2 games which is possible over the next 13 games - so its still open considering we still have to play arsenal and liverpool as well as aston villa in the second half of the league - but all of those are at a fortress called old trafford so its looking increasingly good for the red devils - we are in the finals of the carling cup - stil in the FA cup as well as champions league and also leading the league - so having won the community shield as well as the club world cup united are in line for an unprecedented 6 trophies for the season - not expecting all of them though i must add cos thats an immense amount of pressure mounting on each one now but ill take any ones we can get - im more anxious for premier league cos that makes us equal liverpools 18 top flight titles and champions league cos that makes a new record for being the first team to successfully defend that title in its new format - the FA cup and Carling cup would be a bonus on an already good year

on another note - chelsea are now 12 points behind the leaders and arsenal are 15 points behind - pretty much writing off their chances of winning the league - they are now both playing just to get a champions league spot - but aston villa are giving them a good run for the money there - in fact villa are still within sight of not only breaking into the big 4 but also maybe of winning it altogether as are liverpool

most exciting premier league season ever

[lancelot]

That it is!

[Frozenfireside]

It's over for Liverpool

[naughty]

It's over for Liverpool

dude - they still in the FA cup and have a good chance at the champions league so not all doom and gloom for the reds ...... and trust me its easy to win a cup - even if you play united or chelsea in a final - though i have to admit in terms of the premier league i did say at the beginning of the season its a matter of peaking at the right time

im reminded of arsenal last season - they were leading so well till a series of 9 draws got them out of the running - and its the draws thats killing liverpool too - the reason is you need to pace yourself out and peak at the right time

oh and you need a huge squad too - that helps a lot - dunno if anyone noticed that united played all the youngsters plus guys like tevez and nani and anderson more in the cups and the guys like rooney and ronaldo and berbatov more in the premier league and champions league - it helps to have a huge squad - its like having two different teams to play in different competitions - and player rotation policies become easy

[Frozenfireside]

We need to find like a breeding farm for Torez and send him there to make lots of little Liverpool players. "Torez passes to Torez who pares it to Torez!"

*sigh*

[Frozenfireside]

Nice

[Tribble]

Yes it is

[Screeper]

Well played Liverpool!! 4-1 away at Old Trafford = respect.
Man U didn't play and Liverpool really capitalised on that.

[naughty]

okay - very well done liverpool

i cant lie and say it was a good game cos there was only one side playing - and unfortunately it wasnt my side

but hopefully this has the effect of being th ekick in the backside that we needed cos we were stuck in cruise control for too long - we actually needed something like this to realize that we need to up a gear (or two) and hopefully liverpool just wakened up a greater hunger in us with this humbling thrashing

also once again it keeps the title race a bit open instead of an overwhelming landslide season for one side - it keeps things interesting a bit - so im still happy enough cos we are still 4 clear and one game in hand - but a bit less margin for error now

[Frozenfireside]

it keeps things interesting a bit

Yeah I certainly think this makes the race much more interesting. Even if the sport doesn't need more viewers, I think it will get them since that match.

[naughty]

WOWZERS - what a day for upsets - it hasnt been a good day for me but a great day for football as a spectacle - united were diabolical in a first half that saw scholes sent off and they just couldnt back into the match - thankfully chelsea didnt manage to take advantage over an inspired spurs - and its been a weekend against the form book at the moment

BUT the door is open for liverpool to mount a serious challenge to surge forward now - and really the title race is opening up again - unless Villa can put a dent in liverpools ambitions - Martin O Neills side the win to again challenge the gunners for that champions league spot - so can they triumph over a liverpool side to more-or-less retain the status quo in the top half of the table - its a must win game tomorrow for both villa and liverpool but liverpool are on a high right now - so for villa its gonna be like trying to hold a tiger by the tail

Arsenal also need the win in tonights match to see off villa and if villa do succumb to liverpool arsenal need to pounce against struggling newcastle - so are arsenal gonna drop newcastle further down the table or what - im just off to watch right now ......exciting stuff indeed

Gentlemen the race is now "ON" as all the teams are beginning to rev their engines

[Screeper]

Arsenal with a fairly comfortable win in the end. Although the first half was quite evenly balanced.
I really hope Newcastle survive the drop though.

Liverpool vs Villa tomorrow is a massive game...

[naughty]

well done gunners

I really hope Newcastle survive the drop though.

really difficult to see that happening now - Chris Hughton really cant inspire them to do that IMHO

Liverpool vs Villa tomorrow is a massive game...

now we get to see if villa really are determined to try and get to play champions league football this season - it seems more likely though that liverpool will win given the form they are in right now - and do the gunners a favor and keep them rooted at the 4th spot

[naughty]

sheesh - well done to liverpool on pounding villa into the dust at 5-0 - its really game on now - difference goes down to 1 point and one game in hand - but that isnt much - if liverpool win all remaining games and united draw and lose one more liverpool should go through on goal difference (thats also assuming that united win that game in hand against portsmouth)

[lancelot]

Thank you Liverpool, from a grateful Arsenal supporter!