What the pundits & media are saying about us
- Thread starter eddiev14
- Start date
ILS
Well-Known Member
- Jun 21, 2008
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He is just a very intelligent individual who was lucky enough to have very good upbringing and you can tell.
On the flip side, I don't think Merson, Joe Cole, Carlton Cole or Gabby completed a year of school between them.
Marty
Audere est farce
- Mar 10, 2005
- 40,314
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Tables and other graphics are usually auto-generated so the logical reason is that it's failed to update and nobody's double checked it before it went on air. Human or computing error is far more likely and common than conspiracy.
Theyre shocking - its teh fact they cant string a sentence together... Gabby 'its like' Agbonlahor and Carlton 'ill keep laughing because I dont have a clue what to say' Cole
O'Hara is okish but still crap. Bent I do like.
As for on Sky and BT Sport - I like whats on there, I dont mind them at all... its predominantly Talksport actually thats shite.
ILS
Well-Known Member
- Jun 21, 2008
- 3,803
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My favourite is Simon Jordan. He is just a good listen and has his own opinions, unlike some others who just go down the line of what the general media is pushing.
taidgh
Well-Known Member
- Aug 13, 2004
- 7,915
- 16,287
Pfft. As if I'd believe that! It was clearly an example of the global movement to keep the mighty spurs down! That was just a peek behind the curtain.
Goes alongside bent refs and cabals of football organizations committed to keeping the status quo. Oh and 'Big Media' - can't forget them.
faymantaray
Average-Sized Member
- Apr 19, 2005
- 5,577
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Paul Merson:
Tottenham have still got a Tottenham in them. I don’t mean that in a horrible way, but they still have got a Tottenham in them. Everyone was going mad about them but they could’ve been blown away in the first half against Aston Villa.
Villa should’ve been out of sight and they only have to have one of those days in the next seven weeks. The 4-0 win over Villa covered over the cracks. They did some great stuff, don’t get me wrong, but in the first half Hugo Lloris had to make save after save. So I’m still not convinced by Tottenham.
I don't disagree that it's not over yet but what an utterly mindless and reductive 'analysis' this is. You'd think someone who has been around football all his life would understand the concept of 'chances', the fact that a match lasts 90 minutes, and that a broader range of factors and variables has to be considered.
I cannot fathom how this guy gets paid to write this.. then I remember it's football punditry.. might as well be a charity for meathead ex-players. Fuck me for reading and engaging with it too..
Tottenham have still got a Tottenham in them. I don’t mean that in a horrible way, but they still have got a Tottenham in them. Everyone was going mad about them but they could’ve been blown away in the first half against Aston Villa.
Villa should’ve been out of sight and they only have to have one of those days in the next seven weeks. The 4-0 win over Villa covered over the cracks. They did some great stuff, don’t get me wrong, but in the first half Hugo Lloris had to make save after save. So I’m still not convinced by Tottenham.
I don't disagree that it's not over yet but what an utterly mindless and reductive 'analysis' this is. You'd think someone who has been around football all his life would understand the concept of 'chances', the fact that a match lasts 90 minutes, and that a broader range of factors and variables has to be considered.
I cannot fathom how this guy gets paid to write this.. then I remember it's football punditry.. might as well be a charity for meathead ex-players. Fuck me for reading and engaging with it too..
CoopsieDeadpool
Well-Known Member
- Jun 8, 2012
- 18,257
- 70,419
You've REALLY misunderstood what I was trying to say, Steffen.
The poster I was responding to was losing his shit because he chose to listen to what was being said.
That's all I was getting at. Not saying people shouldn't discuss it, that's not what I'm all about.
It would be like me getting physically angry by watching a Jimmy Saville documentary. I know what I'd be tuning into, what I'm likely to hear. I'd only have myself to blame because it was me who decided to watch it.
I don't watch, or listen to things that I know I won't like.
Sorry you took my post the wrong way. And I think you'd struggle to find a more "chill" poster on this entire platform.
Neon_Knight_
Well-Known Member
- Jul 20, 2011
- 4,047
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How does Merson describe Arsenal's last two performances then...Arsey?
Paul Merson Says: I'm still not convinced by Tottenham... they've still got a Spursy performance in them
Paul Merson: Tottenham have still got a Tottenham in them. I dont mean that in a horrible way. Everyone was going mad about them but they couldve been blown away in the first half against Aston Villa.www.skysports.com
It was on sky sports news....he has a regular column.
The original tweet I posted was just the first one I came across to post on here for ease.
They've thrown away a strong position where CL qualification was in their own hands, by losing to teams who would both be 15th/16th in the table without their 3 points from beating Arsenal.
If we had done that, we would have been "Spursy" and have "bottled it". We didn't do that...Arsenal did...but rather than discussing how awful Arsenal have been this month, Merson focuses on how maybe it's still possible for us to play as badly as Arsenal. If that's the only way he can make himself feel better about his precious club, good luck to him.
If we finish in the top 4, Merson will almost certainly deflect from that achievement by discussing how we still haven't won a trophy. He won't mention that Arsenal were so far off being good enough for CL qualification that they missed out to a team who sacked their manager after an awful opening 3 months of the campaign. Arteta will "need more time" for the project, despite no progress having been made in 3 years and despite his predecessor being sacked for finishing 5th.
spurmin
Well-Known Member
- Feb 8, 2005
- 1,427
- 3,713
Sounds like they’re grating on you.
faymantaray
Average-Sized Member
- Apr 19, 2005
- 5,577
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How does Merson describe Arsenal's last two performances then...Arsey?
They've thrown away a strong position where CL qualification was in their own hands, by losing to teams who would both be 15th/16th in the table without their 3 points from beating Arsenal.
If we had done that, we would have been "Spursy" and have "bottled it". We didn't do that...Arsenal did...but rather than discussing how awful Arsenal have been this month, Merson focuses on how maybe it's still possible for us to play as badly as Arsenal. If that's the only way he can make himself feel better about his precious club, good luck to him.
If we finish in the top 4, Merson will almost certainly deflect from that achievement by discussing how we still haven't won a trophy. He won't mention that Arsenal were so far off being good enough for CL qualification that they missed out to a team who sacked their manager after an awful opening 3 months of the campaign. Arteta will "need more time" for the project, despite no progress having been made in 3 years and despite his predecessor being sacked for finishing 5th.
As another poster mentioned.. it's not his bias but his stupidity that is so infuriating. So many contradictions, so little substance.. objectively speaking how is this person qualified to do this job?
Neon_Knight_
Well-Known Member
- Jul 20, 2011
- 4,047
- 6,794
Could have been blown away...but weren't. Isn't that the antithesis of "Spursy"?
Arsenal lost 3-0 to Crystal Palace, despite having 69% of possession and creating twice as many chances as Palace. That's the sort of outcome that would be described as "Spursy" if we'd done it.
A quick glance at the table may mislead someone into thinking Palace are the tougher opposition, but Palace are only two places (1 pt) ahead of Villa because we beat Villa and Arsenal lost to Palace. Same goes for Brighton.
faymantaray
Average-Sized Member
- Apr 19, 2005
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At first I thought it was a benevolent act towards depressed ex-players to let them share their 'analyses' and give them a sense of purpose, but he's obviously paid because his simplistic and inflammatory opinions generate clicks.
slartibartfast
Grunge baby forever
- Oct 21, 2012
- 18,320
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Yeah but youre pilled up lol.
tommo84
Proud to be loud
- Aug 15, 2005
- 6,238
- 11,321
Nobody was losing their shit and there was nothing in anyone’s posts about Neville’s comments to suggest they were. Given what this thread is devoted to, it’s an odd assumption to make that any time anyone comments on a bit of punditry that equates to ‘losing their shit’.
But let’s move on.
Adam456
Well-Known Member
- Jul 1, 2005
- 4,462
- 3,128
Such a bell end. At least Ian Wright knows a little about how to be magnanimous, if occasionally not impartial
There's a reason why Merson never gets anywhere near MOTD, for example. Because he's a knob
Marty
Audere est farce
- Mar 10, 2005
- 40,314
- 64,424
On the subject of Onouha I really think the best pundits tend to have been good-but-not-great players and mostly CBs or CMs because they played with the game in front of them.
Onouha has quickly become a favourite of mine and as I've mentioned before Brede Hangeland is my gold standard for punditry but that might be largely because I worked with him for the best part of five years and saw how much effort he put into everything he presented.
Of course there are exceptions and several CBs and CMs are thick as two planks but I feel like there's a pattern there somewhere.
Nayim60yards
Well-Known Member
- Jul 25, 2005
- 1,442
- 6,112
This is behind a paywall on The Times. https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/...gue-title-race-and-crash-next-years-8hslszcn7
Here it is in full...
Tottenham Hotspur can decide Premier League title race – and crash next year’s
James Gheerbrant
Tuesday April 12 2022, 12.01am, The Times
While Liverpool and City are competing for the title, it could be Spurs who decide its destination
The showdown between Manchester City and Liverpool on Sunday represented the undoubted pinnacle of English club football. Alan Shearer, writing in his BBC Sport column, described a “gulf” between the top two and the other teams in the Premier League, and the table certainly bears that out. But if there is any team capable of closing that gap next season, it is Tottenham Hotspur.
Spurs have already had a big say in the title race — refusing to sell Harry Kane to City in the summer, doing the double over Pep Guardiola’s side and drawing at home to Liverpool — and their visit to Anfield on May 7 looms large as a potentially pivotal moment in the run-in.
It is Liverpool’s hardest remaining fixture, and stylistically a difficult match-up for Jürgen Klopp’s team. No team have conceded more through-balls this season than Liverpool; no team have played more, since Antonio Conte took over, than Spurs. Son Heung-min’s pace and the timing of his runs will challenge Liverpool’s high defensive line.
The impact of Conte’s coaching has been transformative. Since he was appointed on November 2, Tottenham have had by some margin the third-best goal difference in the top flight, +26, behind City on +38 and Liverpool on +36. Behind them, Chelsea are on +18 and then Arsenal at +10. In attack, Spurs are not far off the heights that the top two are hitting. In fact, Tottenham have averaged 2.14 non-penalty goals in Conte’s 21 league games, right up there with City (2.19) and Liverpool (2.1). In terms of chance creation, there’s still a gap, though not a huge one: Tottenham are creating opportunities worth 2.0 expected goals — a measure of quality of chances — per game, compared with 2.4 for Liverpool and 2.3 for City.
Defensively, Tottenham are further behind, although this is more to do with them not controlling games to the extent that City and Liverpool do, rather than because their defending is bad. They have conceded 0.95 non- penalty goals per game under Conte, which is a way off City and Liverpool (both 0.67 in the same period), and more in the ballpark of Chelsea and Arsenal.
Spurs have had 51.9 per cent possession and 52.8 per cent shot share under Conte; in that period, City have had 70 per cent of the ball and 74.5 per cent of the shots, Liverpool 62.4 per cent and 71.5 per cent respectively. It’s this level of dominance that is so hard for aspiring title contenders to close in on.
Having said that, Spurs may not need to attain quite that level of dominance to challenge for the title. As Saturday’s 4-0 win over Aston Villa demonstrated, they have elite individual quality at both ends of the pitch. Hugo Lloris is an excellent shot-stopper and Son is probably the best finisher in football.
There are very few players who consistently score more than the quality of their chances, but Son is one. Since the start of last season, he has scored 33 non-penalty goals (more than anyone else in the league) from chances “worth” only 20.7 expected goals (xG), based on the shot location and position of goalkeeper and defenders. That means he has outperformed his xG by 12.3 goals, almost twice as many as the next best finisher in this period, Jesse Lingard, who has 6.2 goals above expectation.
The South Korean’s hat-trick on Saturday was an exhibition of what makes him such a great finisher: his ability to strike the ball cleanly, often first time, and into the outer areas of the goal. Against Villa, two of his goals struck the inside of the post, yet Son very rarely misses the target: of the 49 players who have taken 30 shots (excluding blocks) in the league this season, the 29-year-old is the most accurate, hitting the target 68.5 per cent of the time.
In terms of the constituent parts of the team, it’s clear that Tottenham’s biggest asset is the front three of Son, Harry Kane and Dejan Kulusevski. Kane and Son’s brilliance — and their connection — is well documented, but the way Kulusevski has come into the team and dovetailed beautifully with them has been a real bonus.
Since Kulusevski’s debut against Southampton on February 9, only one player in the league, Kane, has created more than his 20 open-play chances. Those chances have been worth 0.24 expected assists per 90 minutes, meaning that you’d expect the quality of his passes to generate about one assist every four games. That’s the fifth- highest figure among players to have logged over 750 minutes this season, behind Trent Alexander-Arnold, Michael Olise, Mason Mount and Riyad Mahrez.
Together with his fellow January recruit, Rodrigo Bentancur, another big success, Kulusevski has subverted the received wisdom that there is no value to be found in the January window.
Something that really stands out is how much more secure on the ball Conte has made the ex-Juventus duo. In Serie A, both were guilty of often getting caught in possession but in the Premier League you simply can’t get away with giving up frequent transition opportunities. According to FBref.com, Bentancur has gone from being dispossessed 1.6 times per 90 minutes at Juventus this season to 1.3 times per 90 with Spurs, while Kulusevski has halved his ball losses from four to two.
Are Tottenham good enough to challenge the duopoly next season? Conte’s phenomenal league record invites faith. Then again, he’s never had to haul in two teams who are quite so far ahead.
Chelsea haven’t quite managed to make the leap in Thomas Tuchel’s second season but they are trying to catch up with City and Liverpool offensively, whereas Spurs already have a dynamic front three nearly at the level of the top two. Right now, Spurs are still locked in a tight tussle with Arsenal for fourth place — but they may have loftier ambitions next season.
Here it is in full...
Tottenham Hotspur can decide Premier League title race – and crash next year’s
James Gheerbrant
Tuesday April 12 2022, 12.01am, The Times
While Liverpool and City are competing for the title, it could be Spurs who decide its destination
The showdown between Manchester City and Liverpool on Sunday represented the undoubted pinnacle of English club football. Alan Shearer, writing in his BBC Sport column, described a “gulf” between the top two and the other teams in the Premier League, and the table certainly bears that out. But if there is any team capable of closing that gap next season, it is Tottenham Hotspur.
Spurs have already had a big say in the title race — refusing to sell Harry Kane to City in the summer, doing the double over Pep Guardiola’s side and drawing at home to Liverpool — and their visit to Anfield on May 7 looms large as a potentially pivotal moment in the run-in.
It is Liverpool’s hardest remaining fixture, and stylistically a difficult match-up for Jürgen Klopp’s team. No team have conceded more through-balls this season than Liverpool; no team have played more, since Antonio Conte took over, than Spurs. Son Heung-min’s pace and the timing of his runs will challenge Liverpool’s high defensive line.
The impact of Conte’s coaching has been transformative. Since he was appointed on November 2, Tottenham have had by some margin the third-best goal difference in the top flight, +26, behind City on +38 and Liverpool on +36. Behind them, Chelsea are on +18 and then Arsenal at +10. In attack, Spurs are not far off the heights that the top two are hitting. In fact, Tottenham have averaged 2.14 non-penalty goals in Conte’s 21 league games, right up there with City (2.19) and Liverpool (2.1). In terms of chance creation, there’s still a gap, though not a huge one: Tottenham are creating opportunities worth 2.0 expected goals — a measure of quality of chances — per game, compared with 2.4 for Liverpool and 2.3 for City.
Defensively, Tottenham are further behind, although this is more to do with them not controlling games to the extent that City and Liverpool do, rather than because their defending is bad. They have conceded 0.95 non- penalty goals per game under Conte, which is a way off City and Liverpool (both 0.67 in the same period), and more in the ballpark of Chelsea and Arsenal.
Spurs have had 51.9 per cent possession and 52.8 per cent shot share under Conte; in that period, City have had 70 per cent of the ball and 74.5 per cent of the shots, Liverpool 62.4 per cent and 71.5 per cent respectively. It’s this level of dominance that is so hard for aspiring title contenders to close in on.
Having said that, Spurs may not need to attain quite that level of dominance to challenge for the title. As Saturday’s 4-0 win over Aston Villa demonstrated, they have elite individual quality at both ends of the pitch. Hugo Lloris is an excellent shot-stopper and Son is probably the best finisher in football.
There are very few players who consistently score more than the quality of their chances, but Son is one. Since the start of last season, he has scored 33 non-penalty goals (more than anyone else in the league) from chances “worth” only 20.7 expected goals (xG), based on the shot location and position of goalkeeper and defenders. That means he has outperformed his xG by 12.3 goals, almost twice as many as the next best finisher in this period, Jesse Lingard, who has 6.2 goals above expectation.
The South Korean’s hat-trick on Saturday was an exhibition of what makes him such a great finisher: his ability to strike the ball cleanly, often first time, and into the outer areas of the goal. Against Villa, two of his goals struck the inside of the post, yet Son very rarely misses the target: of the 49 players who have taken 30 shots (excluding blocks) in the league this season, the 29-year-old is the most accurate, hitting the target 68.5 per cent of the time.
In terms of the constituent parts of the team, it’s clear that Tottenham’s biggest asset is the front three of Son, Harry Kane and Dejan Kulusevski. Kane and Son’s brilliance — and their connection — is well documented, but the way Kulusevski has come into the team and dovetailed beautifully with them has been a real bonus.
Since Kulusevski’s debut against Southampton on February 9, only one player in the league, Kane, has created more than his 20 open-play chances. Those chances have been worth 0.24 expected assists per 90 minutes, meaning that you’d expect the quality of his passes to generate about one assist every four games. That’s the fifth- highest figure among players to have logged over 750 minutes this season, behind Trent Alexander-Arnold, Michael Olise, Mason Mount and Riyad Mahrez.
Together with his fellow January recruit, Rodrigo Bentancur, another big success, Kulusevski has subverted the received wisdom that there is no value to be found in the January window.
Something that really stands out is how much more secure on the ball Conte has made the ex-Juventus duo. In Serie A, both were guilty of often getting caught in possession but in the Premier League you simply can’t get away with giving up frequent transition opportunities. According to FBref.com, Bentancur has gone from being dispossessed 1.6 times per 90 minutes at Juventus this season to 1.3 times per 90 with Spurs, while Kulusevski has halved his ball losses from four to two.
Are Tottenham good enough to challenge the duopoly next season? Conte’s phenomenal league record invites faith. Then again, he’s never had to haul in two teams who are quite so far ahead.
Chelsea haven’t quite managed to make the leap in Thomas Tuchel’s second season but they are trying to catch up with City and Liverpool offensively, whereas Spurs already have a dynamic front three nearly at the level of the top two. Right now, Spurs are still locked in a tight tussle with Arsenal for fourth place — but they may have loftier ambitions next season.
faymantaray
Average-Sized Member
- Apr 19, 2005
- 5,577
- 8,507
Now that is a fucking analysis! Take note Paul ‘the 4-0 win papered over the cracks’ Merson..
