Premier League Thread: Week 2

[TheRef]

Well that was an exciting opening weekend for Premier League football.

The Leicester City Foxes come off of an impressive 2-2 draw against Top 6 Everton to face off against Chelsea F.C. Chelsea is coming off of a victory over DudyDawg's Burnley. While we will be playing at Stamford Bridge, I believe that the Foxes won't get too overwhelmed with the large stage that they will be playing on. I'd look for newly re-signed James Vardy and David Nugent (NUUUUUGGGEEEEEEEE) to make some noise in the attacking third of the pitch. Honestly, I'm just hoping for the Foxes to stay within 1 or 2 goals, but I wouldn't mind having a draw or even get the 3 points against a Chelsea club on their own pitch. Kickoff is at 9:00 AM CT on NBCSN and on NBC Live Extra (Online).

[Dawg61]

Spurs face QPR on Saturday but something I don't like about PL already they face some club AEL in the Europa League tomorrow. wtf. Just play one damn league at a time. Shit is confusing and it weakens the value of winning these leagues cause well there's more than one league that your club can win. imo

[Tdawg]

Well that was an exciting opening weekend for Premier League football.

The Leicester City Foxes come off of an impressive 2-2 draw against Top 6 Everton to face off against Chelsea F.C. Chelsea is coming off of a victory over DudyDawg's Burnley. While we will be playing at Stamford Bridge, I believe that the Foxes won't get too overwhelmed with the large stage that they will be playing on. I'd look for newly re-signed James Vardy and David Nugent (NUUUUUGGGEEEEEEEE) to make some noise in the attacking third of the pitch. Honestly, I'm just hoping for the Foxes to stay within 1 or 2 goals, but I wouldn't mind having a draw or even get the 3 points against a Chelsea club on their own pitch. Kickoff is at 9:00 AM CT on NBCSN and on NBC Live Extra (Online).

Was disappointed we let y'all get the equalizer late. Will be good to have the home opener, although Arsenal will present a significant challenge. This is my first season following the EPL--and all the other leagues.

[War Machine Dawg]

Hull City will play Lokeren tomorrow in the away leg of their Europa League draw. Sunday, Hull will return home to KC Stadium to face Stoke. Hull received devastating news this morning when manager Steve Bruce announced transfer Robert Snodgrass has a dislocated patella and ligament damage. Snodgrass will require surgery and miss at least 6 months and possibly longer, meaning he will be out for most or all of the EPL season. The injury occurred late in the first half of Saturday's season opening win over Queen's Park.

Hull has been actively looking to add a striker after selling Shane Long to Southampton. Rumours have them chasing a player from the French league named Aboubakar. Hull may also now be in the market for an additional defender/wingback to replace the injured Snodgrass. Steve Bruce will have his hands full to fill out his roster by the close of the current transfer window.

WMD personal note: No rumors of it, but I'd kill to see us raid Sunderland for Jozy Altidore. Would love to have an American on the team to root for each week. That said, Aboubakar is supposedly damn good.

[DudyDawg]

What can I say about Burnley's game Monday. We tried? It started with a Burnley goal and 1-0 lead on Chelsea, and looked like we would be able to pull off another shock opening day win (did it to United a few years back). That hope lasted all of about two minutes. Chelsea then scored three goals in about 15 minutes and held us off for the rest of the night. This week we face Cadaver's Swansea on the road (gonna spank that ass, Cad) and hopefully we can pull out at least one away point. Unfortunately looks like it'll be a long season. As for the rest of the league, it was one hell of a week one. Lots of road wins and late winners.

In Spain, Real Madrid and Athletico Madrid (Atleti) play the second leg of the Spanish Supercup on Friday in the Calderon (Atleti's place). The first leg wended in a disappointing (for a Real fan) 1-1 draw, meaning Real must score on the road to win. La Liga has yet to kick off.

[Dawg61]

All 20 of the kits (not sure if all are home)

http://worldsoccertalk.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/premier-league-kits-600x374.jpg

[BrunswickDawg]

Hey WMD - your boys better rest up, cause Stoke is coming to town rested and ready to brawl this weekend. After a disappointing opening tilt Saturday resulted in a 0-1 loss to Aston Villa, the Potters will be gunning for some payback.

[DawgHouseUnited]

Southampton lost a close opener against Liverpool (aka Southampton's sell-offs) but look to rebound against West Brom on Saturday. We're still on the transfer market, looking for a few new players. Still trying for Townsend from the Spurs- a long shot perhaps but Coach K is continuing to try. He's also looking at Lazio star Alvaro Gonzalez. There's also a rather public pursuit of Aston Villa star Ron Vlaar, but I don't know if that will go anywhere either. We'll see what happens before the transfer window closes.

[Dawg61]

week 1 table

http://www.espnfc.us/barclays-premier-league/23/table

[mstatefan91]

Aston Villa plays Newcastle United this Saturday at 6:45 am on NBCS. First home game of the season. Another 3 points and two wins to open the season would be great for the Villans.

[#660000]

AEL in the Europa League tomorrow

Having quite a difficult time with Limassol. Typing this message up and Spurs finally find the equalizer. COYS

[War Machine Dawg]

Hull goes down 1-0 to Lokeren in the Europa League. They scored late, and their GK made a helluva stop to rob Ince of a late equalizer. Also, Hull apparently went with the B team for most of the match. Hull will be at home for the next two, Stoke City in an EPL match and the home leg of Europa with Lokeren.

[ShotgunDawg]

I discovered my problem with soccer today, after Mario Balotelli was transferred to Liverpool: I CAN'T FIGURE OUT WHO PLAYS FOR WHAT TEAM, IN WHAT LEAGUE, AND WHEN THE "TRANSFER/TRADE DEADLINE" IS.

This is what I love about the World Cup. I know who plays for what country, what they are playing for, what they're colors are, and they can't change teams.

I love soccer, but one consolidated, best players in the world, league is desperately needed. I can't follow this.

Players get transferred and don't play for the team they were transferred to, and players get signed by teams, then don't play for them for a while. Then player are put out on loan in the middle of the season of the team they are supposed to be playing for.

Soccer is a great game, but all these different league makes it virtually impossible to follow.

[TheRef]

I discovered my problem with soccer today, after Mario Balotelli was transferred to Liverpool: I CAN'T FIGURE OUT WHO PLAYS FOR WHAT TEAM, IN WHAT LEAGUE, AND WHEN THE "TRANSFER/TRADE DEADLINE" IS.

This is what I love about the World Cup. I know who plays for what country, what they are playing for, what they're colors are, and they can't change teams.

I love soccer, but one consolidated, best players in the world, league is desperately needed. I can't follow this.

Players get transferred and don't play for the team they were transferred to, and players get signed by teams, then don't play for them for a while. Then player are put out on loan in the middle of the season of the team they are supposed to be playing for.

Soccer is a great game, but all these different league makes it virtually impossible to follow.

Thank you for copying and pasting this post on both BPL threads.....one would have been sufficient.

[Liverpooldawg]

Mario isn't a Liverpool player yet. He is on Merseyside for a medical. Personal terms haven't been worked out yet. If it does go through he won't be able to face City Monday because he wasn't registered as a Liverpool player before noon today.



I discovered my problem with soccer today, after Mario Balotelli was transferred to Liverpool: I CAN'T FIGURE OUT WHO PLAYS FOR WHAT TEAM, IN WHAT LEAGUE, AND WHEN THE "TRANSFER/TRADE DEADLINE" IS.

This is what I love about the World Cup. I know who plays for what country, what they are playing for, what they're colors are, and they can't change teams.

I love soccer, but one consolidated, best players in the world, league is desperately needed. I can't follow this.

Players get transferred and don't play for the team they were transferred to, and players get signed by teams, then don't play for them for a while. Then player are put out on loan in the middle of the season of the team they are supposed to be playing for.

Soccer is a great game, but all these different league makes it virtually impossible to follow.

[Dawg61]

Mario isn't a Liverpool player yet. He is on Merseyside for a medical. Personal terms haven't been worked out yet. If it does go through he won't be able to face City Monday because he wasn't registered as a Liverpool player before noon today.

Looks like both City and Liverpool will be better off on Monday then. Mario is an overrated head case that hides and pouts when losing.

[Liverpooldawg]

Looks like both City and Liverpool will be better off on Monday then. Mario is an overrated head case that hides and pouts when losing.

....but he knows where the back of the net is. It's little remembered but he set up the goal that won the league for City 3 years ago. He was under heavy defensive pressure too,

He's ours and he's nuts, head ours and he's nuts!!!!!maybe ours that is.

[Dawg61]

....but he knows where the back of the net is. It's little remembered but he set up the goal that won the league for City 3 years ago. He was under heavy defensive pressure too,

He's ours and he's nuts, head ours and he's nuts!!!!!maybe ours that is.

Oh no doubt when he's on he is great but just seems like too much high-matenance for what you get once every couple of games and Liverpool is a team that doesn't need prima donnas right now

[gtowndawg]

I've been following Everton since the 2010 World Cup (because of Howard plus Donavan was on loan to them for a little while). Always fun seeing if they are on early Saturday mornings and getting up with some coffee and watching some futbal before football.

[TheRef]

I've been following Everton since the 2010 World Cup (because of Howard plus Donavan was on loan to them for a little while). Always fun seeing if they are on early Saturday mornings and getting up with some coffee and watching some futbal before football.

Speaking of Howard, he's asked for a year off from USMNT competition.

[Dawgowar]

West Ham has Crystal Palace. Short of defenders, short of quality strikers. Still have a woman managing the boardroom. Manager has a head bigger than Mullen's (Literally)

We have lost 3 of the last 5 or 6 1-0

Palace wins.

[FatDrunkandStupidDawg]

Sorry I missed last week but let's be honest, we were only playing Burnley which might be a warm-up for our Under 18 squad.

But this week we play Leicester City who was last years most accomplished away side and hasn't lost on the road since December 2013 (to note, that was in the Championship); but this match will be played in a sold out Stamford bridge that hasn't seen a first home game loss since 1993. The Blues will be looking for their 7th consecutive win against the Foxes in their first top-tier meeting in 11 years... (that's a long time not playing big boy futball)

This offseason manager Jose Mourinho's sole focus was on improved efficiency, control, and game intelligence. Last weeks results seem to point to a Chelsea team clicking early in the season, with this summers additions of Diego Costas and Cesc Fabregas showing out early against the Clarets. Costas silenced many critics early in the match with a goal in the 17th and Fabregas was involved in all 3 goals on the day earning him man of the match. This week after the Blues have secured their 3 points for the week expect to see the introduction of Didier Drogba to a rapturous reception by the Chelsea supporters after his 8 year departure from the Blues.

On the home front; this week the Austin Blue's will be meeting at local watering hole Haymaker who will open up at 6:30am and is advertising a Scotch Egg (habanero pickled egg wrapped in sausage & fried) breakfast special.... personally I'll be sticking with a beer! This match can bee seen at 9:00am EST on NBCSN.

This Week: Chelsea 3 - Leicester City 0

[Dawg61]

Spurs can be seen Sunday morning on CNBC 8am et live vs QPR

[TheRef]

Leicester holding their own against Chelsea. I'm a happy man at HT

[DudyDawg]

Nathan Dyer slotted home for Swansea to give them a 1-0 lead over my Burnley at the half. Poor goalkeeping IMO.
West Ham are playing well and leading I think.

I love waking up and laying on the couch dozing in and out of games. No better hangover cure than a little soccer.

Sadly, atletico Madrid beat Real Madrid yesterday 1-0 to win the Spanish supercup. Angel Di Maria and Sami Khedira both were left off the team, leading me to think they are leaving. Looks like Khedira to Bayern is definitely happening (he's in Germany "watching his brother" instead of training w RM). Angel (who I hope with all my heart stays) looks like he will go somewhere in the Premiership, likely to United

[CadaverDawg]

My SwanSea City Swans are on a damn mission this year, boys.

[DudyDawg]

My SwanSea City Swans are on a damn mission this year, boys.

Don't count out Burnley yet!!

[CadaverDawg]

Those white on white Swans kits are clean

[FatDrunkandStupidDawg]

Leicester is looking good, but we look like we are starting to warm up! Although how Nugent didn't just score I have no clue... Great save though!

[TheRef]

Leicester is looking good, but we look like we are starting to warm up! Although how Nugent didn't just score I have no clue... Great save though!

Nuge is frustrating right now. He's back to old form from last season when he would be able to hit about 1/10 shots. That was our best opportunity yet. Don't count us out just yet, though. Our conditioning is GREAT.

[DudyDawg]

Leicester is looking good, but we look like we are starting to warm up! Although how Nugent didn't just score I have no clue... Great save though!

Saw that. He really should've scored there. Just went too close to the keeper. Great game right now though. Prime example of how exciting and intense a 0-0 game can be

[TheRef]

The Bridge is almost silent....I love it!!!

[FatDrunkandStupidDawg]

GGGGGGGGOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAAAAAAALLLLLLLLLLL LLLLLL!!!!!!!!! Diego Costa!

[TheRef]

GGGGGGGGOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAAAAAAALLLLLLLLLLL LLLLLL!!!!!!!!! Diego Costa!

Knew it was going to come eventually. Ughhh...we need a reply. Good goal by Diego Costa.

[FatDrunkandStupidDawg]

Knew it was going to come eventually. Ughhh...we need a reply. Good goal by Diego Costa.

I really like y'all's goalie Schmeichel, he's had a great game. Plus I bet he slays som vag!

[TheRef]

I really like y'all's goalie Schmeichel, he's had a great game. Plus I bet he slays som vag!

He's definitely the panty dropper of the group. Foxes call him Kasper

[DudyDawg]

Can't go on the road in the Premiership and miss two breakaways and win. Especially against teams like Chelsea. Foxes have dug their own grave

[TheRef]

Can't go on the road in the Premiership and miss two breakaways and win. Especially against teams like Chelsea. Foxes have dug their own grave

Truth on that one. Nugent is getting slammed on the boards right now.

[FatDrunkandStupidDawg]

Nice! Easy goal by Eden Hazard! Lovely!

[TheRef]

Nice! Easy goal by Eden Hazard! Lovely!

Welp.....good 3 points for you, Chelsea.

[DudyDawg]

Looked like the keeper had it covered until the deflection took it under his arm. Drogba about to come on to one hell of a cheer

[FatDrunkandStupidDawg]

And as predicted, here comes Drogba

Didier Drogba, tra lala,
Didier Drogba, traaa lalala,
Didier Drogba, tra lala,
Didier Drogba, traaa lalala..

[CadaverDawg]

SWANS WIN AGAIN! 1-0 over Burnley

#YearOfTheSwan

[TheRef]

GG Chelsea. FT: 2-0 Chelsea

Things to take away from this match for the Foxes: Nuge needs to be able to score better. GTF at the mid is hilarious. Overall, good quality game for the Foxes on foreign pitch against the favorites to win the Prem. There's an inherent learning/talent curve right after promotion. We need to get a little bit better depth and try to get some Prem quality players in there. Good match by Chelsea and I hope we can end up playing an even closer match later on in the season.

[TheRef]

Well then...Arsenal came back looking for blood.

[Smitty]

Palace lose again. 3-1 to West Ham. Pulis departure has us on the road to relegation.

[WeWonItAll(Most)]

Newcastle tied Aston Villa 0-0. Slow start to the season and the fans are still pissed at ownership

[mstatefan91]

Aston Villa 0-0 Newcastle United

Full write up later after I watch some highlights and read a summary of the match. Unfortunately, I was not able to watch this game either. I'll work next week's match against Hull City into my normal Fall Saturday sports marathon. lol

[Dawg61]

Got up late so I started Spurs match late but right now we are double dicking QPR no lube. Absolute rape. 3-0 Spurs with an entire half left. Watch out for Spurs boys we are going to be in top 4 for sure. Very tall, big team that is showing great touch on passing. Only thing I worry about with Spurs is they look a little slow but that hasn't been a problem so far.

[DudyDawg]

I like spurs in 5th/6th. Just not enough creative talent IMO. They've been good so far tho

[Dawg61]

I like spurs in 5th/6th. Just not enough creative talent IMO. They've been good so far tho

I have yet to see them lose since we started this thing(knocks on wood). They are big. Very big and I think that gives them the illusion of being slow and not creative but I have been impressed with their passing/ball skills for such a big squad. They are lethal on headers off of crosses/long balls.

[War Machine Dawg]

Hull & Stoke tie at 1. Also, saw something about Hull getting a defender from Tottenham. 61, maybe you can help me out with that.

[BulldogDX55]

Hull & Stoke tie at 1. Also, saw something about Hull getting a defender from Tottenham. 61, maybe you can help me out with that.

I'm at work and can't watch. Keep me updated on our tigers!

[Dawg61]

Hull & Stoke tie at 1. Also, saw something about Hull getting a defender from Tottenham. 61, maybe you can help me out with that.

Yup HC signed Michael Dawson from Spurs. He started 34 matches for THFC last year. Nice add for your Tigers.

[War Machine Dawg]

I'm at work and can't watch. Keep me updated on our tigers!

I didn't get to watch either, just got a FT alert from my ESPNFC app. Hoping a rip will hit the net later that I can watch. Got the alert about the defender from the Bleacher Report app. BR is actually pretty decent about breaking news like transfers and such. Good news is we've got 4 points after the first 2 weeks, so that's a good thing. Btw, anyone know what Man U did today? I haven't bothered looking.

[TheRef]

I didn't get to watch either, just got a FT alert from my ESPNFC app. Hoping a rip will hit the net later that I can watch. Got the alert about the defender from the Bleacher Report app. BR is actually pretty decent about breaking news like transfers and such. Good news is we've got 4 points after the first 2 weeks, so that's a good thing. Btw, anyone know what Man U did today? I haven't bothered looking.

Draw 1-1

[War Machine Dawg]

Yup HC signed Michael Dawson from Spurs. He started 34 matches for THFC last year. Nice add for your Tigers.

That's it. Definitely a nice add. I'm assuming he'll be an immediate starter for our PL lineup. Now to go get a striker.

[DudyDawg]

That's it. Definitely a nice add. I'm assuming he'll be an immediate starter for our PL lineup. Now to go get a striker.

He's a good grab. Not a superstar but he's an upgrade in defense. Should be in the lineup quite a bit. Hull got a red card in the first half but managed to take the lead before stoke finally broke through

[War Machine Dawg]

DX, I just checked the stats. Jelavic scored our lone goal. We lost the possession battle 57-43. Stoke had 19 shots 3 on goal to our 9 shots 2 on goal. Chester, last week's hero, got a red card. Robertson got a yellow. Gonna hurt not having Chesty next week.

[War Machine Dawg]

He's a good grab. Not a superstar but he's an upgrade in defense. Should be in the lineup quite a bit. Hull got a red card in the first half but managed to take the lead before stoke finally broke through

That's about what I figured, Dudy. We can't really afford to go get any superstars, so it seems like our strategy is try to get solid role players and a few young guys who could develop into superstars within a couple of years. Dawson fits the solid role player mold that will upgrade our team without breaking the bank. Ince and Robertson are the young guys who could develop. I really like what I've seen from Ince in particular. Seems like he always finds a way to be in the middle of the action somehow.

We still need a striker, though. Selling Shane Long was a smart move financially, but it hurt the roster by losing our top striker. Jelavic, according to the Hull boards, is very average to bad most of the time. We missed on Vincent Aboubakar and Jordan Rhodes. Porto beat us to Aboubakar and Blackburn won't give up Rhodes. Speculation is we bid $8M pounds Stirling, but Blackburn turned it down and released this statement: "The owners of Blackburn Rovers wish to reassure fans that their intention is not to sell Jordan Rhodes as they, along with the manager and board of directors, feel that he is integral to our bid to gain promotion back to the Premier League."

Selfishly, I wish we'd at least make an offer to Sunderland for Jozy Altidore. He doesn't play much there for some reason, and I think he'd be a big upgrade for us. Plus, I'd like to have a USMNT player to root for every week. No rumours of it happening, though. Don't know who else we'll target, but missing on our top 2 targets isn't good.

[DudyDawg]

For those craving more, Portland and Seattle are on Espn2 right now. Probably best rivalry in MLS. Seattle up 2-0 on the road and their fans chanting "it's all gone quiet over there" to the Portland supporters end. Great atmosphere

[Liverpooldawg]

The week isn't over yet. The biggest game so far of the young season is tomorrow: Liverpool @ City.

[DudyDawg]

Really wish super Mario was signed in time to play. As if a game between the 1 and 2 teams last year needs more story lines

[mstatefan91]

The week isn't over yet. The biggest game so far of the young season is tomorrow: Liverpool @ City.

Can't wait to watch this one. First game of the season that I will actually get to sit down and watch. Hope it's a good one

[mstatefan91]

Brad Guzan had a couple of good saves in the second half. The game could have easily been 1-0 in either team's favor

[War Machine Dawg]

Update: Apparently Hull played a man short for 76 minutes today. And Stoke's equalizer in the 83 minute came after a wrongly awarded throw in that should've gone to Hull. I'll let Ron Simmons say it best......

http://i.imgur.com/oHfd32H.gif

[DawgHouseUnited]

Well for the records, Southampton made it through the weekend without a loss- instead tying with West Brom. It's a step in the right direction on the stat sheet- a loss in the first game, and a tie in the second; hopefully it will lead to wins. WBA had a good tight defense and the Saints only took 8 shots (2 on goal). The possession scale tipped our way- 58%-42%, but we gave up 5 corners and only took one. We only had one yellow card (2 for West Brom), but there were nearly 30 fouls between the the teams.

We're still trying to get all the new players settled, and a couple of them- Tadic and Pelle are having to adjust to the Premier League game. Southampton is still fishing for a few players, including Andros Townsend (Spurs) and Nathan Redmond (Norwich). I'm not sure that either attempts will work out, though. Tottenham has basically said that Townsend isn't going anywhere, and the bid for Redmond is lower than one from another team that got rejected.

Up next the Saints face Millwall Tuesday in the Capital One Cup, then we'll face West Ham on Saturday.

[CadaverDawg]

Well, well, well....Look who is ranked #3 in the EPL...

http://www.espnfc.us/barclays-premier-league/23/table



http://paulinecreeden.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/swan-gif.gif

[ebdawg]

Game Day. Liverpool vs Manchester City 2:00 CT
Lets go Reds!

[TheRef]

Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaand Mario Balotelli has been transferred from AC Milan (Italy) to Liverpool.....

ETA: I need more coffee

[War Machine Dawg]

Well, well, well....Look who is ranked #3 in the EPL...

http://www.espnfc.us/barclays-premier-league/23/table

Look who's #5. EPL getting Mauled by the Tigers!!!

Hey DX, in case you're the bit torrent type, Sunday's game is now available to DL at Pirate Bay. Just sayin'.

[DudyDawg]

Milan Italy ref. I'm sure you know that and had a brain fart haha

Speaking of Spain, Real Madrid just kicked off against newly promoted Cordoba. For those who love attacking and attacking with speed, real are the team to watch. It's in the 19' on Bein sport

[DudyDawg]

Liverpooldawg, where ya at

[Liverpooldawg]

Liverpooldawg, where ya at

Work. I got to watch a little bit on my phone. Defense is still dodgy. We had more shots, but they took theirs better. I didn't expect to win, but I didn't expect to get killed. Looks like several injuries as well. VERY bad day at the office for the Reds.

[DudyDawg]

I watched some of the first half on tv with Real Madrid on the laptop. It did seem like Liverpool were in the attacking third everytime I looked up. That being said, they lacked the quality to do anything about it (from what I saw). Balotelli should help that. The defense needs an upgrade. It's got good players, but I would argue Liverpool doesn't have a singular "world class" defender that you need to win the premiership

[ebdawg]

Tough loss for Liverpool today. I didn't get to see the game, but it sounds like we had a few chances early and didn't capitalize. Still need to improve on the defense. The goals will come with this team, especially now with Mario Balotelli joining the squad.
Next week, Liverpool takes on Tottenham on Sunday.