Boring boring Premier League

[TheRam]

I have a theory on why set pieces have become so important.

I think it’s all down to managers wanting to slow the game down to give their players a rest.

That’s why we have so many long throws. It’s taking teams nearly a minute to take them.

Same with free kicks. It takes sooooo long for a free kick to be taken these days. You have the players moaning at the ref, the setting up of the wall, usually some pushing and shoving that has to be broken up, players discussing who’s taking the free kick, the ref getting his little spray out.

It all takes so long and is really tiresome to watch, but add it all up and you have around 30 minutes taken away from each game.

With that amount of football being played these days, managers will continue to look for ways to slow the game down.

[Bluedylan1]

Yeah it's the growth of data and analytics why there's less screamers. Clubs are much more focused on creating high quality chances, rather than having pot shots or relying on individual moments of quality. Teams are much smarter defensively, and that's why through balls are much less prevalent. If you watch the Bundesliga, there's tonnes of space for through balls in every game. It's a bit amateurish. Look how Eintracht Frankfurt set up against Liverpool a few weeks back. Atrocious.

On a wider general point though, I actually think the standard in the Prem has gone up across the board. The middle and lower end teams are pretty much all capable of beating anybody in the league, and all have dangerous players. The promoted teams are better than in previous seasons. It's an incredibly difficult league. There's hardly any games where you look at it and think ''that's a definite win for that team'', which is remarkable to say.

In the Bundesliga, Serie A and La Liga the top clubs play dozens of games every season where they are expected to win and they win very comfortably almost every time, without really breaking a sweat.

[AjaxAndy]

Yeah there's much less long range goals, I think it's because most coaches tell their players not to shoot from outside the box as the % chance of scoring is much lower than shots from closer range. I think I read that Thomas Frank has explicitly banned shots from outside the box at Brentford, although Richarlison obviously ignored that yesterday if it's something he still preaches.

The other thing that I miss from football past is through balls, and strikers one-on-one with the keeper as a result. Seems to be something that's very rare these days. Linked to that, I miss it when strikers used to round the keeper to score - another lost art.

Games are a lot less open which doesn't help. All a game of chess now and what you do without the ball, or even how you set up with it in case you lose it makes everything super cagey in comparison to the past.

Pep pretty much ruined footy in this country imo.

[777Kidnappings]

Yeah there's much less long range goals, I think it's because most coaches tell their players not to shoot from outside the box as the % chance of scoring is much lower than shots from closer range. I think I read that Thomas Frank has explicitly banned shots from outside the box at Brentford, although Richarlison obviously ignored that yesterday if it's something he still preaches.

The other thing that I miss from football past is through balls, and strikers one-on-one with the keeper as a result. Seems to be something that's very rare these days. Linked to that, I miss it when strikers used to round the keeper to score - another lost art.

Not sure players have been going round keepers for decsdes now. R9 was amazing at it.

I think football it generally shit. Hardly any really enjoyable games. No quite scope for teams to rise to the top or fall from it. Literally 100s of meaningless games now in expanded qualifying to get more money. I've zero interest in watching games beyond ours. Apart from the odd 1s involving our relegation rivals id be surprised if ive watched an entire non Everton game beginning to end since the world cup final (which i actually turned off cos I couldn't face the penalties)

[Gash]

I think it goes back to what Neville said after a recent Manchester derby, absolute bore of a game with no passion or excitement but he said we see far too many games like that these days, everything is so robotic with the players are coached to very rigid set ups.