The Barclays Premier League Thread 2013/14

[Baddar]

Got to love it when a team plays on when one of their players is down, then lose their shit when the opposition don't put it out when they get possession.

[EddieG]

You choose to play with a disadvantage, the others play with an advantage, it's like the advantage rule.

[Baddar]

But there's no rule saying Villa should have stopped, at least any more. If Arsenal were so concerned about Rosicky, they could've kicked it out themselves.

I didn't think it'd be this tense, this late on. Villa could salvage something here.

[Baddar]

2-1 FT. Good effort from Villa in the end, just came a little too late.

[Cymbols]

Dreadful first half. Decent second half. New defenders are a must, especially as we don't know how bad Baker's injury is.

[Colly]

You choose to play with a disadvantage, the others play with an advantage, it's like the advantage rule.

What?

[Gazz]

Nerf will be enraged.

[Lineker]

Samir Nasri has been ruled out for eight weeks with a medial knee ligament injury.

[Noah]

Match of the Day has supported the move, with the show launching a ‘Hoofing Suarez in the nuts of the month’ competition.

Best part of Gazz's 'article'

[Baddar]

Samir Nasri has been ruled out for eight weeks with a medial knee ligament injury.

That's a long time, but a better outcome for him than I expected.

[Rich]

Villa have the most obvious yet still unusually effective tactic, "aim for Benteke's head, hope for the best" was about the sum of it last night.

[brenchill]

I remember going to a game last season vs. QPR and literally everything was aimed at Benteke. Throw ins, corners, goal kicks, free kicks, etc.

[Rich]

Last night was not any different

[Plubby]

Samir Nasri has been ruled out for eight weeks with a medial knee ligament injury.

Can't believe I was wrong. When I saw he'd been hurt vs Newcastle I thought to myself "Has to have been Cabaye."

[Lineker]

Mike Jones, who refereed Sunday's Premier League match between Newcastle and Manchester City, will not take charge of a game this weekend.

[Plubby]

YEAH. UNDER 21s. SUCK IT, NEWCASTLE.

[Nerf]

Some telling stats inspired by brenchill's thought the other day.

Cristiano Ronaldo's best season in the EPL saw him score once for every 5.8 shots.

Thierry Henry's best season in the EPL saw him score once every 5.7 shots.

Robin van Persie's best season in the EPL saw him score once every 5.7 shots.

Didier Drogba's best season in the EPL saw him score once every 6.1 shots.

All averaged less than one goal per game.

Luis Suarez is currently averaging a goal every 4.1 shots and 1.4 goals per game. He's actually closer to Messi's best scoring season than any of the above are to him.

[METALMAN]

And in doing so, each of those players won the league. I don't think Suarez will be joining them.

Each of those players did that over the course of a full season. None of them let their team down by getting banned for a month of the season.

You can make stats like that say anything you like. There are far more variables besides scoring efficiency that need to be considered. For instance, I'm pretty sure Thierry Henry made far more chances for his teammates as well as scoring themselves.

[Liam]

Suarez is not as good as Ronaldo, Messi, Henry, and arguably the other two, stats or otherwise at this precise moment. Just deal with it.

[Nerf]

And in doing so, each of those players won the league. I don't think Suarez will be joining them.

You can make stats like that say anything you like. There are far more variables besides scoring efficiency that need to be considered. For instance, I'm pretty sure Thierry Henry made far more chances for his teammates besides that.

They were all part of much better sides, though, and it's entirely possible Suarez could join them. Chance creation is probably the most skewed stat there is, clear cut chances give a far more accurate perspective on those things, and Suarez creates a ton of clear cut chances. It'd be cool if somebody could track down those stats for comparison.