Premier League 2016/2017 and other Euro League Talk

Pruitt · Post by **Pruitt** » Sat Aug 20, 2016 11:09 pm

Stat lesson #1 - never mention possession percentage as being a relevant stat.

[Burnley has 19% Possession And Wins

mister d · Post by **mister d** » Mon Aug 22, 2016 8:19 am

Atleast in the EPL last year, there's a strong correlation b/w points and possession numbers. Leicester City was 18th last year but the rest of the top 5 was also top 5 in possession. #thisissortoflikehockeyyay

Pruitt · Post by **Pruitt** » Mon Aug 22, 2016 9:36 am

mister d wrote:Atleast in the EPL last year, there's a strong correlation b/w points and possession numbers. Leicester City was 18th last year but the rest of the top 5 was also top 5 in possession. #thisissortoflikehockeyyay

I guess, but it is tiring to hear analysts present the fact that a team won with less possession as being an anomaly. Granted, 19% possession is beyond the pale, but it's not a very significant stat.

sancarlos · Post by **sancarlos** » Mon Aug 22, 2016 10:46 am

mister d wrote:Atleast in the EPL last year, there's a strong correlation b/w points and possession numbers. Leicester City was 18th last year but the rest of the top 5 was also top 5 in possession. #thisissortoflikehockeyyay

So, there's a likelihood that Leicester regresses to the mean this season?

mister d · Post by **mister d** » Mon Aug 22, 2016 11:13 am

If its anything like the NHL, sure, they'd be Colorado from a few years back. But I really have no idea.

govmentchedda · Post by **govmentchedda** » Mon Aug 22, 2016 11:33 am

I feel like Mr. D brought up this discussion a few months back. Leicester City should regress to the mean, but possession in soccer is VERY different from possession in hockey.

ETA - at least as far as looking at possession = positive results/expected wins

mister d · Post by **mister d** » Mon Aug 22, 2016 11:45 am

Because of game situations or because defend-and-counter is a legitimate strategy in soccer versus hockey? Or both?

degenerasian · Post by **degenerasian** » Mon Aug 22, 2016 11:56 am

mister d wrote:Because of game situations or because defend-and-counter is a legitimate strategy in soccer versus hockey? Or both?

can't defend like soccer in hockey. Defend-counter in hockey would get destroyed. Flames did this last year and was out of the playoff race by valentines.

1. offensive team can change on the fly while defensive team is pinned in their own zone (especially in the 2nd period)
2. Icing
3. Faceoffs
4. Power plays
5. no offside trap

govmentchedda · Post by **govmentchedda** » Mon Aug 22, 2016 12:25 pm

mister d wrote:Because of game situations or because defend-and-counter is a legitimate strategy in soccer versus hockey? Or both?

Defend and counter is a legitimate soccer strategy. Think back to the whole Guy Boucher kerfuffle that reached a boiling point against Philly when the Bolts forwards wouldn't chase the defender with the puck in the offensive zone. Similar strategies happen much more often in soccer.

Leicester did a lot of defend and counter last year, and were able to do so because of the lightning pace of Mahrez and Vardy. It looks like Manchester United will do a lot of that this year as well, although a bit differently, as "lightning pace" does not describe Rooney or Ibrahimovich.

Post by **Shirley** » Mon Aug 22, 2016 12:29 pm

Chelsea has won both games 2-1 this season with late goals. Both came after late subs in of Fabregas (as well as Moses and Batshuayi).

Check out this beautiful pass from Fabregas to Costa for the game winner on Saturday. It's fucking beautiful.

Another angle:

A_B · Post by **A_B** » Mon Aug 22, 2016 12:36 pm

govmentchedda wrote:
mister d wrote:Because of game situations or because defend-and-counter is a legitimate strategy in soccer versus hockey? Or both?
Defend and counter is a legitimate soccer strategy. Think back to the whole Guy Boucher kerfuffle that reached a boiling point against Philly when the Bolts forwards wouldn't chase the defender with the puck in the offensive zone. Similar strategies happen much more often in soccer.

Leicester did a lot of defend and counter last year, and were able to do so because of the lightning pace of Mahrez and Vardy. It looks like Manchester United will do a lot of that this year as well, although a bit differently, as "lightning pace" does not describe Rooney or Ibrahimovich.

But both have ridiculolus first touches, which can help dictate the next move.

degenerasian · Post by **degenerasian** » Mon Aug 22, 2016 12:38 pm

Madrid had a smilar goal. that pass and that chip!

wlu_lax6 · Post by **wlu_lax6** » Mon Aug 22, 2016 2:00 pm

Dresden fans don't like Red Bull Leipzigs
http://www.foxsports.com/soccer/story/d ... ium-082116

Post by **Sabo** » Wed Aug 24, 2016 12:23 pm

mister d · Post by **mister d** » Thu Aug 25, 2016 11:38 am

I'm guessing Barcelona is not the group draw you're looking for, huh?

A_B · Post by **A_B** » Thu Aug 25, 2016 12:17 pm

mister d wrote:I'm guessing Barcelona is not the group draw you're looking for, huh?

Personally, I would take it this year.

govmentchedda · Post by **govmentchedda** » Thu Aug 25, 2016 12:58 pm

Shouldn't really matter as top 2 advance, but no, you want to avoid Barca if possible.

The Sybian · Post by **The Sybian** » Thu Aug 25, 2016 3:44 pm

Speaking of Arsenal need to sign a center back, looks like they closed on Shkodran Mustafi today. Also reports they closed on Lucas Perez. If not, Wenger is going to be crucified.

Pruitt · Post by **Pruitt** » Thu Aug 25, 2016 6:02 pm

Champions league looms:

Group A: Paris St-Germain, Arsenal, Basel, Ludogorets

Group B: Benfica, Napoli, Dynamo Kyiv, Besiktas

Group C: Barcelona, Manchester City, Borussia Mönchengladbach, Celtic

Group D: Bayern Munich, Atletico Madrid, PSV Eindhoven, FC Rostov

Group E: CSKA Moscow, Bayer Leverkusen, Tottenham Hotspur, Monaco

Group F: Real Madrid, Borussia Dortmund, Sporting Lisbon, Legia Warsaw

Group G: Leicester, Porto, Club Brugge, FC Copenhagen

Group H: Juventus, Sevilla, Lyon, Dinamo Zagreb

Spurs got the best draw possible.

The Sybian · Post by **The Sybian** » Thu Aug 25, 2016 7:45 pm

Pruitt wrote:
Spurs got the best draw possible.

I give that nod to Leicester. So weird to see their name there.

govmentchedda · Post by **govmentchedda** » Fri Aug 26, 2016 9:55 am

This year's true European competition. Notice who is listed first.

GROUP A
Manchester United
Fenerbahce
Feyenoord
Zorya Luhansk

GROUP B
Olympiakos
APOEL
Young Boys
FK Astana

GROUP C
Anderlecht
St Etienne
Mainz
FK Qabala

GROUP D
Zenit St Petersburg
AZ Alkmaar
Maccabi Tel-Aviv
Dundalk

GROUP E
Viktoria Plzen
AS Roma
Austria Vienna
Astra Giurgiu

GROUP F
Athletic Bilbao
Genk
Rapid Vienna
Sassuolo

GROUP G
Ajax
Standard Liege
Celta Vigo
Panathinaikos

GROUP H
Shakhtar Donetsk
Braga
Gent
Konyaspor

GROUP I
Schalke
Salzburg
Krasnodar
Nice

GROUP J
Fiorentina
PAOK
Slovan Liberec
FK Qarabag

GROUP K
Inter Milan
Sparta Prague
Southampton
Hapoel Beer-Sheva

GROUP L
Villarreal
Steaua Bucharest
FC Zurich
Osmanlispor

mister d · Post by **mister d** » Fri Aug 26, 2016 9:58 am

How should I feel about Man City getting Bravo instead of ter Stegen? I wanted the latter just because he's younger and I thought it would be cool to start a long tenure at the beginning.

govmentchedda · Post by **govmentchedda** » Fri Aug 26, 2016 10:09 am

Were they in for Ter Stegen? Also, he's coming off an injury.

mister d · Post by **mister d** » Fri Aug 26, 2016 10:14 am

Those were the early rumors.

govmentchedda · Post by **govmentchedda** » Fri Aug 26, 2016 10:16 am

So many rumors flying around. I tend to pay attention only to the ones involving my team.

Steve of phpBB · Post by **Steve of phpBB** » Fri Aug 26, 2016 1:17 pm

The Sybian wrote:
Pruitt wrote:
Spurs got the best draw possible.
I give that nod to Leicester. So weird to see their name there.

After seeing their qualifier a few weeks ago against Astra Giurgiu, I'm all in on FC Copenhagen.

Plus, it's fun to see "FCK" on one of their shirts or hats.

degenerasian · Post by **degenerasian** » Fri Aug 26, 2016 2:53 pm

So it's a

Total Eclipse of Joe Hart

Rex · Post by **Rex** » Sat Aug 27, 2016 12:49 pm

What the heck was going on at Villa last year that they could have someone like Idrissa Gueye and still be that bad? He's not only really good, he seems like the perfect player to grind out results.

Pruitt · Post by **Pruitt** » Sat Aug 27, 2016 3:13 pm

Spurs looked like crap today - the entire midfield and Karry Kane looked hungover.

tennbengal · Post by **tennbengal** » Mon Aug 29, 2016 10:18 am

3 games in and City, ManU and Chelsea with 9 points each. Things apparently put back to right.

sancarlos · Post by **sancarlos** » Mon Aug 29, 2016 10:27 am

tennbengal wrote:3 games in and City, ManU and Chelsea with 9 points each. Things apparently put back to right.

But, do we want to live in a world where that is "right"?

govmentchedda · Post by **govmentchedda** » Mon Aug 29, 2016 10:48 am

tennbengal wrote:3 games in and City, ManU and Chelsea with 9 points each. Things apparently put back to right.

Well, one out of three ain't bad. It also allows for much more money making opportunities on short term investments with the "big" teams now fully awake and lots of competition amongst them for the top of the table.

Post by **Shirley** » Mon Aug 29, 2016 12:26 pm

It sure looks good to me. Chelsea looked simply dominant against Burnley on Saturday. If not for some incredible goalkeeping (and one crazy clearance off the line by a defender), that game could have been 6-0 or worse.

tennbengal · Post by **tennbengal** » Mon Aug 29, 2016 12:52 pm

sancarlos wrote:
tennbengal wrote:3 games in and City, ManU and Chelsea with 9 points each. Things apparently put back to right.
But, do we want to live in a world where that is "right"?

What we want doesn't matter. We'll always have 2015/16.

Also, I am the ugly American who likes shiny things and Ibra/Pogba has me working out ManU chants.

The Sybian · Post by **The Sybian** » Mon Aug 29, 2016 1:26 pm

Shirley wrote:It sure looks good to me. Chelsea looked simply dominant against Burnley on Saturday.

This statement shows how bad things truly were last year.

Post by **Shirley** » Mon Aug 29, 2016 1:30 pm

The Sybian wrote:
Shirley wrote:It sure looks good to me. Chelsea looked simply dominant against Burnley on Saturday.

This statement shows how bad things truly were last year.

Yup. Chelsea didn't dominate anyone last year.

Well, other than Arsenal.

That French Guy · Post by **That French Guy** » Mon Aug 29, 2016 2:41 pm

Frank McCourt is buying Olympique Marseille. A club and city notorious for being unmanageable.
As someone who enjoys when they lose (in domestic league), this should be a fun ride

sancarlos · Post by **sancarlos** » Mon Aug 29, 2016 4:58 pm

That French Guy wrote:Frank McCourt is buying Olympique Marseille. A club and city notorious for being unmanageable.
As someone who enjoys when they lose (in domestic league), this should be a fun ride

It would be entertaining to watch the supporters throw him into the sea.

Post by **Sabo** » Wed Aug 31, 2016 9:13 am

This is awesome. Now I don't have to see this douchebag on TV this season.

mister d · Post by **mister d** » Wed Aug 31, 2016 9:38 am

I wonder if that means Mikey Lopez is out at NYCFC.

(They resemble each other.)