NFT: Premier League: Manchester United vs West Ham

opens his United account by banging one off the post and in. 1-0 in the 33'.

Lukaku or Chicharito can hold a candle to David Villa right now.

What another amazing goal last night.

The most dominant NYC athlete right now. Yes, including Odell.

Sweet goal by Lewis, too.

Not an expert but Man U look way better than this other team. Is this supposed to be a rivalry or something?

isn't a rivalry, but I'm sure fans of United or West Ham can give you a better answer.

What a start to his United career.

Lukaku is vehemently disagreeing with you

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Neither Jon in NYC : 11:40 am : link : reply Lukaku or Chicharito can hold a candle to David Villa right now.

If you are a fan of the MLS, you probably don't want Villa to perpetuate the idea that washed up Europeans can come over and dominate.

In comment 13558775 FatMan in Charlotte said:

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Lukaku is vehemently disagreeing with you Quote: Neither Jon in NYC : 11:40 am : link : reply Lukaku or Chicharito can hold a candle to David Villa right now. If you are a fan of the MLS, you probably don't want Villa to perpetuate the idea that washed up Europeans can come over and dominate.

Villa is proving that he isn't washed. Not by any stretch.

Lampard, Pirlo? Washed up. Villa is on another level.

You know the real result was City's suffocation of Brighton yesterday, 2-nil. City is gonna be so fun to watch this year.

In comment 13558781 pganut said:

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You know the real result was City's suffocation of Brighton yesterday, 2-nil. City is gonna be so fun to watch this year.

City is really really good and really deep. They have an unreal starting XI and a bench that would still make the top 4. Gabriel Jesus is special.

is you're going to have a difficult time convincing casual fans that he isn't just another Euro coming for a money grab

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Villa is proving that he isn't washed. Not by any stretch. Lampard, Pirlo? Washed up. Villa is on another level.

Basically, the view will be that Lukaku can dominate the world's best while Villa can go to America and crush the Little Leagues. Not saying that's true, but it most certainly is the perception.

looks like the EPL is going to be a lot fun this year. I mean it's going to be the usual 5 or 6 clubs competing for the championship, but it's looks like a very intriguing 2017-18 season ahead.

didn't realize they started this weekend. As an Everton fan, it sucks that we lost Lukaku, but I never expected to keep him. Nice start to Rooney's return to Everton.

In comment 13558787 FatMan in Charlotte said:

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is you're going to have a difficult time convincing casual fans that he isn't just another Euro coming for a money grab Quote: Villa is proving that he isn't washed. Not by any stretch. Lampard, Pirlo? Washed up. Villa is on another level. Basically, the view will be that Lukaku can dominate the world's best while Villa can go to America and crush the Little Leagues. Not saying that's true, but it most certainly is the perception.

Agreed.

What passing, and a great finish by Martial.

another by MU. 4-0.

"Hammers Hammered."

Spain should call him up...they don't have a better option.

Defoe couldn't hack it in MLS. He went back to England and scored a ton of goals last year. That doesn't mean MLS is tough and the EPL sucks.

David Villa could play on any team in the world. He's still that good.

Of anyone this weekend in my opinion. Man City right behind them. Going to be a very interesting season. By all accounts this is the best Man United squad in quite some time.

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Jermaine Defoe Go Terps : 1:10 pm : link : reply Defoe couldn't hack it in MLS.

Jermain Defoe scored 11 goals in 19 matches in the MLS, so I think he probably could hack it.
Comparing the MLS to the top European leagues is like comparing the CFL to the NFL. Yes some players can make the transition, the the standards are vastly different though.

over the Arsenal bugaboo, lots of positives though.

Man U put in a commanding show today.

In comment 13558834 moespree said:

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Of anyone this weekend in my opinion. Man City right behind them. Going to be a very interesting season. By all accounts this is the best Man United squad in quite some time.

Wouldn't sleep on Spurs. They are the most cohesive team of the top 6.

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A few points from this weekend:

- The defending in England sucks right now and will continue to bite the top teams in the ass. Look at the top teams and tell me if there is an elite center back among them outside of a just past his prime Vincent Kompany. We'll see more scorelines like this all year.

- THAT was a Manchester United team that played today - attack, attack attack. I still think that Jose has his doubts about who plays in big games and still need some more depth, but we'll see.

- As for the David Villa debate, he is on fire and could play in Europe right now, particularly when you consider Fernando Torres is on the bench at Atletico. That being said, the Galaxy team he played last night was awful.

- Harry Kane is going to get himself and his teammates in deep shit with these slide tackles. He pulled the same thing against Roma in the ICC and it nearly started a fight. Today it knocked the Newcastle player out of the game and escalated tensions that later led to the Shelvy stomp (lest we forget Shelvy is a known idiot).

In comment 13559012 Bobby Humphrey's Earpad said:

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A few points from this weekend: - The defending in England sucks right now and will continue to bite the top teams in the ass. Look at the top teams and tell me if there is an elite center back among them outside of a just past his prime Vincent Kompany. We'll see more scorelines like this all year.

I can name two...Toby Alderweireld and Jan Vertonghen. Best GA in the league last season.

But I don't think they can survive any injuries to top guys. They haven't spent any money probably due to the new stadium, and while they do have depth, it's not Kane or Alli or Eriksen waiting to come in if any of those 3 go down. Chelsea is a big mystery to me. I don't know what they're doing. They will regret selling Matic to Man United. What a terrible decision.

But I don't like the whole "favorites" label. If they can replace Otamendi at the back I'll feel a lot better. City vs United this season is going to be unreal.

In comment 13558856 CJW_Wales said:

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Quote: Jermaine Defoe Go Terps : 1:10 pm : link : reply Defoe couldn't hack it in MLS. Jermain Defoe scored 11 goals in 19 matches in the MLS, so I think he probably could hack it. Comparing the MLS to the top European leagues is like comparing the CFL to the NFL. Yes some players can make the transition, the the standards are vastly different though.

Check mate!

It isn't. The EPL is, however, hugely overrated.

They have the most depth in the world.

In comment 13559454 Gmen1982 said:

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They have the most depth in the world.

What's that based on? I know it isn't the only metric we have: performance in Europe. In the last 10 years:

Champions League Winners: Spain 6, England 2
Europa League: Spain 5, England 2

In the last 5 years England's performance in the Champions League had been so poor there was talk of them losing that automatic fourth place qualifier. So UEFA is going to change the rules to make sure the English cash cows remain involved:

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Under a proposed new qualification format, the Premier League, La Liga, Serie A and the Bundesliga could all be guaranteed four clubs qualifying automatically every season. However, one new feature of the rule is that while the top three teams in each domestic league would earn a place in the group stage, the fourth would be decided on something described as ‘historical merit’, according to Gazzetta dello Sport. It’s not yet clear what the specifics of this will mean, but the aim is to keep in giants of the game such as Manchester United, Liverpool and AC Milan, all of whom have been in and out of the competition in recent years due to poor showings in the league. Read more: http://metro.co.uk/2016/08/09/champions-league-rule-changes-could-see-automatic-qualification-for-four-premier-league-clubs-every-season-6057734/#ixzz4pjzf1vjr

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I thought this was a pretty interesting piece about how the increase in premier league money, popularity, and relative parity has coincided with a drop in European performance.

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Money attracts the best players and the best managers. Do some simple alchemy, and the end result should be this: Money makes the best teams. Except, in England, it hasn’t. Of the 28 Champions League semifinalists this decade, only four have been from the Premier League. Chelsea won in 2012 and Manchester United made the year prior, but that’s where the successes end. Tottenham has made the Round of 16 once this decade, Liverpool hasn’t gotten out of the group stage since 2009, City made the semis in 2015 but otherwise haven’t won a knockout tie, and Arsenal — well, information regarding the symptoms of Stockholm syndrome is widely available for fans. The Premier League’s growing purchasing power has coincided with its waning influence at the highest levels of European soccer. United, City, and Chelsea can pay superstars just as much as they get anywhere else, and Liverpool and Arsenal aren’t far behind, but the money hasn’t been enough. With great power has not come a great Premier League team.

The Premier League is probably as unpredictable and exciting as it's ever been. The TV money has created some semblance of parity that likely will not be seen in any of the other top leagues. But as we've seen in the NFL and elsewhere, increased parity does not equal increased quality. It has likely hurt them in European competition as the player quality is now more spread out among PL teams than it was when Chelsea/Liverpool/United were champions league semi final fixtures.


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I definitely think the Manchester teams have a chance to buck that trend this season.

Consider me extremely concerned about Chelsea though

I'm not sure...Man City seems haphazardly slapped together. I don't trust the back line, and I'm not sure they're going to get the requisite cover from the midfield. That won't matter much against Brighton, but in the Champions League it could be a problem.

United seems better put together to my eye, but a lot depends on Pogba and I have a hard time trusting him.

In comment 13559454 Gmen1982 said:

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They have the most depth in the world.

And BBI's resident soccer doofus checks in.

The addition of Matic will allow this. Last season he had to stay back more as Mourinho had very little trust in Carrick until the second half of the season. This is gone now. He knows Matic, has won big with Matic at Chelsea and trusts him. He'll allow Pogba to get forward this season. In my opinion you're going to see a tremendous season from Pogba.

If you missed it yesterday, Real Madrid beat Barcelona 3-1 in the first leg of the Supercopa at the Nou Camp. Ronaldo came on as a sub and scored a great goal, after which he took his shirt off and earned a yellow. Shortly after he earned a second yellow for a dive, and shoved the ref in the back after seeing the red card. He's been suspended for five matches.

In comment 13559703 Jon in NYC said:

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In comment 13559454 Gmen1982 said: Quote: They have the most depth in the world. And BBI's resident soccer doofus checks in.

the best part is watch when villa rejoins Spain he will also leave to play in a real league.

In comment 13559911 Gmen1982 said:

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In comment 13559703 Jon in NYC said: Quote: In comment 13559454 Gmen1982 said: Quote: They have the most depth in the world. And BBI's resident soccer doofus checks in. the best part is watch when villa rejoins Spain he will also leave to play in a real league.

What a sad sad viewpoint.

Talking about how Villa is dominating the MLS at age 34 doesn't help your claim about the MLS there genius.

The assumption in Spain is that Morata and Costa are better players than Villa. They aren't, but that's the assumption.

Last year Harry Kane was the top scorer in England...Villa is still a better player than he is.

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In comment 13559931 Gmen1982 said:

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Yeah. They assume because he's playing in MLS he isn't as good as guys like Morata or Costa who are playing in Europe. But as a fan of the Spanish national team I'd want Villa in over those guys in a heartbeat. Villa is the best striker Spain has ever produced, and at 34 he still isn't that far off his peak. He's one of the truly underrated and underappreciated players of this era.

In comment 13559937 Go Terps said:

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In comment 13559931 Gmen1982 said: Quote: . Yeah. They assume because he's playing in MLS he isn't as good as guys like Morata or Costa who are playing in Europe. But as a fan of the Spanish national team I'd want Villa in over those guys in a heartbeat. Villa is the best striker Spain has ever produced, and at 34 he still isn't that far off his peak. He's one of the truly underrated and underappreciated players of this era.

Come on. They would bring him in if they thought/think he's good enough. I agree they should at least give him a shot without a true striker on the team but they know more than anyone who to bring in. I doubt they wouldn't give him a shot solely based on playing in the MLS.

In comment 13559677 Go Terps said:

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I'm not sure...Man City seems haphazardly slapped together. I don't trust the back line, and I'm not sure they're going to get the requisite cover from the midfield. That won't matter much against Brighton, but in the Champions League it could be a problem. United seems better put together to my eye, but a lot depends on Pogba and I have a hard time trusting him.

Had a feeling Pogba wouldn't be your type of player. They do seem really well put together though and I think he'll have a much better season than last year. Figured they've got to win it this season before it all blows up for Mourinho in year three per usual.

City's attack is as good as it gets but I do agree, I don't trust any back line that's led by Otamendi and Stones.

In comment 13559718 moespree said:

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The addition of Matic will allow this. Last season he had to stay back more as Mourinho had very little trust in Carrick until the second half of the season. This is gone now. He knows Matic, has won big with Matic at Chelsea and trusts him. He'll allow Pogba to get forward this season. In my opinion you're going to see a tremendous season from Pogba.

I don't underestimate the addition of Matic as Mourinho clearly has a plan and role for him, a "poor man's Xavi, or perhaps closer to Iniesta" ((>:), but, based on the half of yesterday's match I watched, equally important to Pogba's play was the space created for him because defenders were preoccupied by Lukaku, and variously with Rashford and Martial. This will vary game to game, and Matic is a key puppeteer, but Pogba's skillset or limitations thereon seem to need the space to maneuver and Lukaku et al. will be key. That said, I'm not portraying myself as expert in all things Pogba.

the one where he scored off the long dribbling run - was incredible in any league. It's not just skill, it's the mentality - he was determined to score there and he did, with degree of difficulty way up there.

I'm not a huge MLS fan myself but Villa is playing great.