Dyche seems a bit different man and manager this year. Not his usual combative self, just going through the motions, as the phrase goes, and his squad reflects that. He’s pulled off escapes the last seasons but I’m not so sure Burnley is a lock to stay up this season.
1 Like
I’m wondering if Burnley might be tempted to pull the trigger this time. Half way through the season with just one win. Unless they see a dramatic upturn in form they’re going down.
1 Like
I think it’s 3 from 4 but with Newcastle spending like a drunk this January the others must be worried.
1 Like
Leeds picking up 3 points really changes how the table looks, much more of a 3 of 4 than it was just yesterday. You have to think that somewhere around 35 points is going to be enough to survive.
2 Likes
But how do you turn this into an actionable framework for the VAR?
1 Like
I find the current situation of managing the covid ‘to postpone or not’ by the PL laughable. Its like the PL almost did not want to manage the situation but had to because they have to. Italy and France have already made vaccinations compulsory for anyone wanting to play outdoor sports. And even without that rule, Italy has already 98% vaccinations in Serie A but yet in pathetic PL, the highest profile league in the world, having only 77%. There is no courage, no strength, no decisiveness, no leadership in the PL management as far as the covid management is concerned. No clear rules and threshold when matches should or should not be postponed. Its almost like whoever can make a better powerpoint proposal slides to convince the PL, will get the match postponed but the others might not. This is shambolic. Take a stand, make vaccinations compulsory and develop a clear guideline to clubs so that matches do not get postponed at the very last hours, you thought it would have been easy to do in current pandemic but this is absolute shite.
5 Likes
Although I agree with you to make vaccinations compulsory is it even possible for the FA to do so in the UK, I mean is there not some sort of law that prohibits it? Just asking.
I have no insights at all of the UK labour laws but if the government can mandate that healthcare workers must have the vaccine except those legally exempt, there is no reason the PL cannot and no reason why the clubs will object if they have any morals left. Maybe those who know the labour or relevant laws can advise better?
I would be in favour if you could convince me that being vaccinated stops you testing positive. However evidence from family and friends says otherwise. I know of two friends who have symptoms and have tested positive for the third time during the pandemic despite now having two and in the second case 3 jabs.
After all it is the testing positive and not the symptoms that stops participation. Vaccination may reduce positive tests but not eliminate them and by how much anyway?
Another one who almost injured his back while diving.
Don’t just book him, ban him for a weekly wage.
1 Like
As football started in 1992 according to Sky, let me just use the Prem years as a quick and dirty analysis of points per game of the champions.
The 90s, it hovered around the 2 PPG mark
The Arsenal/Man Utd duopoly pushed it slightly upwards from 2.1 to 2.3
The Russian oil money then further pushed up to around 2.3 to 2.5
Then last 5 years, it has gone berserk to the point where you really need to be perfect
The financial fair play is all bark with no bite. There have been credible investigations showing that Mancini (to take an example), was paid offically by Shitty, and then had another contract from a UAE club via offshore accounts.
How many of their players are on similar contracts? Just like Ben Johson drug doping, something needs to be done about financial doping.
3 Likes
I think Don’t Look Up would be a nice pun regarding this season’s PL table 
I think we have been down this road many times in many quarters, people questioning whats the purpose of vaccines afterall for Covid. Various studies have shown, if people would believe them of course, that vaccines reduced not eliminate infections. And why is that important? Some studies said it reduces infections by up to 60%, some lesser, some more. But generally it means a player who is vaccinated, the days that he is infectious are reduced by up to 60%, meaning this player has lesser days of infecting someone else especially when he is not displaying any symptoms.
So if for example say Alisson is infectious today and shows no symptoms and is not vaccinated, and if he is not tested, for the next 10 days, he would be going to training and exposing his team mates for 10 days. But if he is vaccinated, he might have reduce his infectious level to say 4 days (based on 60%) meaning exposure to his team mates definitely are lesser. No one has ever said that vaccines are fool proof. But if we are pushing vaccinations to the wider public so hard, then a sport where players hug each other, spit their saliva freely in fields of play, perspiration passing from player to player, and then going home to their children and parents etc…you would think that such close contact professions would want to impose a mandate that ensures the health of all the employees including the players and staff. That is the reason why the government did it for the healthcare sector, that is the reason why Italy and France did it for all outdoor sports players and that is the reason the PL should have more balls to mandate it.
5 Likes
Vaccination doesn’t stop the virus, it reduces the efdects until our own defences shield us in the long term. The virus will mutate again and eventually burn itself out, but Vaccination will assist that.
1 Like
I am usually a pessimistic person but I refuse to give up on the league.
City are leading with 11 points. Good for them.
We have a game in hand and are playing against them late in the season which means we can reduce the gap to 5 points.
Their next league game is also in two weeks which could disrupt their rhythm. It’s also against Chelsea so it’s possible they drop points.
4 Likes
If you require an intervention to be 100% successful then you will be left doing nothing. Preventing transmission is not the primary goal for a vaccine, but it is an important secondary effect and ultimately is the outcome that succesful vaccination campaigns are primarily judged on. More importantly, it isnt a linear relationship. My protection does not just increase the more other people are also vaccinated. The incremental increase in protection is increased as the % of the population vaxxed increases. And this is not just a factor of whether me as individual can get infected after being vaccinated, but also of my likelihood of passing it on once Im vaxxed (especially when only exposed to other vaxxed people).
Essentially, you cannot just look at examples of break through cases and suggest that the vaccines arent going to help in limiting transmission. They absolutely do, and the more people get fully vaccinated the better the effect.
2 Likes
I didn’t say I was against the vaccine. I have 100% faith in it in terms of reducing the severity of cases. I don’t believe we should be forcing players to have it though which was what the other poster was advocating. It won’t stop games being postponed per se.
I didnt say you were. My point was that pointing to breakthrough cases is not a good argument against the role of broad vaccination (as close to universal as possible) in the prevention of transmission.
1 Like
I am coming more and more into the compulsory vaccine camp. I don’t like it, it’s fairly authoritarian, but if 99% of people (because a percent will rather go to jail or get fined heavily, than than take it anyway) are vaccinated, then I believe it’s time to ease most restrictions . And we won’t get rid of the restrictions until more than 90% of citizens in a given country are vaccinated. The social and economic cost of continuing to try to strike down the infection is getting very, very high. I believe we are close, in well vaccinated countries that is, to where it is no longer worth it in a cost-benefit scenario. Sooner or later we have to live normally again, and that is hopefully now very soon. But for that to happen, one needs to reach a 95% vaccinated level or something around that, from what I have read. Because right now, largely unvaccinated people are clogging up the health care sector both in Norway and elsewhere. I am getting less and less understanding concerning those who adamantly refuse to get vaccinated and do not have a very good medical reason for it. It tears at the social fabric. Maybe it is time to force them soon, despite the fact that this would be authoritarian. But maybe the cost-benefit is too skewed for us to continue to honour their free choice. Because there is always a limit to freedom as well.
Anyway, that’s my current thoughts on the matter. Maybe not very footballish, but you discussed this in general so.
2 Likes
Utd v wolves 5.30. Jones back in defence 
3 Likes