***Official*** English Football Season 2020-21

[Furball]

When he took over I thought that their squad was in such bad shape that he'd probably need to ride out some very poor results over the next season or two if he was going to be a long-term success. So I expected something like this, but I still find myself doubting him. Their attack is absolutely tragic and only getting worse.

Yeah the attack seemed ridiculously over-reliant on Aubameyang last season.

 

[Uppercut]

Gabriel looks a really good signing.

I never really understood the fanbase's enthusiasm for Partey, which wasn't really shared by anyone else. To me he looks like a hard-working and technically sound midfielder, but you kinda already had a few of those, and he's not even young. He looks to me like a guy who consistently gets the ball to 50m euro players, not a 50m euro player himself.

Willian just looked like a pretty bad move to me.

 

[sledger]

It's a turgid time. But I think it's too early to judge Arteta really. We'll see I guess.

 

[grecian]

I guess I just like watching Ozil play.

Anyway, Exeter but for lax finishing should be 4-0, predictable second-half coming up........

 

[GIMH]

I guess I just like watching Ozil play.

Anyway, Exeter but for lax finishing should be 4-0, predictable second-half coming up........

No idea what the half time score was but I'm guessing the second half went better than expected...

Another win for the whites, suppose that's the norm now. We'll be on everyone's bets every Saturday before long and no doubt at that point...well, you know

 

[Lillian Thomson]

We have 17 points at home and 2 away.

 

[DriveClub]

I think the criticism of Ozil was he was a massive liability in defence, doesn't track back, win back balls, also he doesn't suit epl's 'physicality' were floated about frequently. Maybe he would've done better in a team that was better defensively

 

[grecian]

No idea what the half time score was but I'm guessing the second half went better than expected...

Another win for the whites, suppose that's the norm now. We'll be on everyone's bets every Saturday before long and no doubt at that point...well, you know

Think Exeweb was going mental on the drop Bowman tip at half time, glad I didn't join in..

 

[GIMH]

Think Exeweb was going mental on the drop Bowman tip at half time, glad I didn't join in..

I gave our forum up earlier this year. I initially stopped logging in around Feb but found myself on there all the time when lockdown hit. Then it went down so a new one got set up. I set an account up, logged in and saw who was running the new one and thought, you know what **** this. I restrict my TRFC talk to a couple of WhatsApp groups, twitter (and I keep that fairly limited) and boring you lot with my nonsense. Its so much better not knowing what the idiots are thinking.

 

[sledger]

I think the criticism of Ozil was he was a massive liability in defence, doesn't track back, win back balls, also he doesn't suit epl's 'physicality' were floated about frequently. Maybe he would've done better in a team that was better defensively

It's always been a pretty lazy criticism imo. May as well criticise Glenn McGrath for not scoring enough runs.

 

[GIMH]

It's always been a pretty lazy criticism imo. May as well criticise Glenn McGrath for not scoring enough runs.

Nah

 

[sledger]

There are some players that you know what full well what you are getting when you buy them imo. Criticising Ozil for being bad at defending is no different from criticising a Ferrari for being bad at pulling a cultivator, criticising a painter for being bad at sculpting, or a carpenter for being bad at baking. They may very well not be very good at any of these things, but of course they aren't. They aren't meant to be and haven't built their reputation on claims that they are.

 

[GIMH]

Yeah I guess so, but there's a difference between being bad at defending, and refusing to take any part in it. I've always seen the criticism to be more the latter. Rightly or wrongly.

 

[DriveClub]

It's always been a pretty lazy criticism imo. May as well criticise Glenn McGrath for not scoring enough runs.

I agree, think he could have been a de Bruyne 0.5 for Arsenal. Or even would have thrived in a role similar to Firmino's. Only criticism is his shooting is a bit below par for someone who's purely offensive.

 

[Lillian Thomson]

A question this morning about whether the new XMAS nationwide relaxation of restrictions means that all clubs can have fans for the Christmas fixtures even if not before. Despite the longing for family gatherings some blokes clearly want a way out.

 

[sledger]

Yeah I guess so, but there's a difference between being bad at defending, and refusing to take any part in it. I've always seen the criticism to be more the latter. Rightly or wrongly.

Maybe, but to some extent I don't think it really matters. It's not like he joined Arsenal and suddenly his play style drastically changed, or his lack of defensive prowess was suddenly exposed.

Don't get me wrong, I fully understand if a player like Ozil does not fit with someone's ideas or ethos re: how they think a team should be playing. If your starting point is that you want every player to be fully committed to defending, then yeah, Ozil is pretty incompatible with that whole approach.

But it's the ****house pundits and journos who bleat on and whine about how "omg Ozil isn't defending again waaaah" that are tedious af. It's like drinking from a tin of paint and complaining after each sip that it still doesn't taste like sauvignon.

In any event, Ozil carrying the can and being made a scapegoat for Arsenal's failings is, and always has been dire. The reason behind any of Arsenal's failings is not "because Mesut Ozil can't/won't defend" ffs.

 

[Uppercut]

Yeah I guess so, but there's a difference between being bad at defending, and refusing to take any part in it. I've always seen the criticism to be more the latter. Rightly or wrongly.

It's a bugbear of mine that so much of the football world equates pressing, an intricate, complex and difficult skill, with "working hard". On the one hand this means that players who are very good at it don't always get enough respect for their talent. But it also means that when players are bad at it, it's treated as a failure of character, when really it's not that different to any other weakness in a player's game.

 

[Uppercut]

Anyway, I don't think he's frozen out for footballing reasons. The story I heard is that Ozil isn't playing because he refused to take the pay cut all of the other players agreed to in March, then bragged about it in the dressing room.

 

[GIMH]

It's a bugbear of mine that so much of the football world equates pressing, an intricate, complex and difficult skill, with "working hard". On the one hand this means that players who are very good at it don't always get enough respect for their talent. But it also means that when players are bad at it, it's treated as a failure of character, when really it's not that different to any other weakness in a player's game.

Yeah, I'd actually go further and say it carries over into many aspects of the game. I've watched some utterly terrible performances over the years, and obviously they may include individual players phoning it in. But honestly a lack of effort is so rarely the cause. Relegation to the conference, perhaps, but even then it was a bit of a vicious cycle that caught on from other things.

But anyway to your point. We smashed Grimbsy 5-0 at the weekend and in reality should have scored a few more. Last night we beat Carlisle 1-0. There wasn't a huge difference in the standard of our play, just what the opposition did. And it was really two things. One, Carlisle actually had a bit about them in the final third to keep us on our toes. But secondly, Carlisle's pressing game was very good whereas Grimbsy were hapless. I think you're right and some might watch those two games and put the difference between the two sides as effort but it's really the know how to get that job done and the Grimsby players, bottom end Div 4 players, don't have it in them.

 

[Jarquis]

It's definitely not work rate anyway... it was repeatedly shown he covered more ground and did more running than anyone else on the park in most games he played.