So far...

[mark1975]

I'd hazard a guess that our pre-season training concentrated heavily on keeping things tighter at the back, and not before time. It's a pity Rodgers' job had to be on the line before he bowed to the inevitable and went this route. Had he done it a couple of seasons ago we might well have been champions.

He's quoted today as saying that despite wanting to stick to his guns about wanting to pass the ball and play fluid football, he's happy that Benteke not only fits into that but makes us a bit more unpredictable too, because we can go long or short.

With regards to the defense, I think that was an obvious approach in the Summer with the way he went for a settled line up and consistent backline in most of the friendlies, to breed some continuity. I still feel like Lovren will get found out sooner rather than later, but at least we're making the right decisions in preparation and making conscious efforts to build a settled unit.

 

[Aidan O' Neill]

Ayew and Montero for Swansea are two very decent players. They have some nice footballers there along with them, Siggurdson and Shelvey. I used to think Gomis was rubbish, but he's been decent so far.

Schneiderlen seems to already be a big loss for Southampton.

Rooney doesn't seem that he can cut it at all as a lone striker. He's been extremely poor.

Arsenal will play great in some games and caves in others and finish 3rd/4th like they always do. Giroud or Wellbeck are not good enough to be the main man for a title winning team.

Spurs desperately need more attacking players. I hate Harry Kane's face by the way.

Bournemouth are good to watch and Eddie Howe is very likeable. I hope they stay up.

Everton's season relies almost solely on Lukaku.

Stoke won't be as good as last year.

Sterling is going to be ace for Man City.

 

[mark1975]

He's not overrated at all, people just don't like that fact that he's come from relatively nowhere, he's old fashioned in style and he scores loads of goals. If he came into the league at 21 from overseas and scored anything near the same number of goals, then he would be mentioned in the World Class bracket by people being equally OTT the other way.

He played throughout the Summer (so did Ings for that matter) and he looks fucked, but he's a top striker and a proper clinical goalscorer.

 

[Oliver Twist]

I don't know about over-rated but the hype surrounding Kane is certainly in overdrive. You don't score all those goals by fluke but, to live up to the hype, he needs to back it up this season. And I am not sure he will. Good for him if he does, obviously, and he will have proven me wrong. And he won't even know it.

 

[Judge Jules]

I'm beginning to wonder whether all Scandoes reckon English fans invariably overrate English players. That was one of Modo's obsessions (it was what really lay behind his vendetta against Lallana) and sadly Hansern, who's generally a far more sensible sort, seems to be stuck in the same groove when it comes to Kane.

 

[Fabio]

Kane did get a bit sucked off by the media though lads

 

[Judge Jules]

"Rated highly" doesn't necessarily equal "overrated" though. As others have said, Kane's goal tally last season was tremendous for a player of his age, especially when you consider he wasn't even first choice at the start of the season. It's true that he now has to prove he can remain at that level, but he had a remarkable season last time out and it isn't "overrating" him to say so.

 

[Mystic]

Harry Kane is 100% overrated, people were talking about him last year as if he's going to lead the national team for the next 10 years. The problems with the English press, they always crazy hype any English player when they have a couple of months performing well, just see Calum Chambers, Jack Wilshere and Andros Townsend and so on. If he's still doing it at the end of the season, having got another return like last, then that's when he's earned the hype he's been getting, until then he's just another promising English player having a purple patch.

 

[Mystic]

"Rated highly" doesn't necessarily equal "overrated" though. As others have said, Kane's goal tally last season was tremendous for a player of his age, especially when you consider he wasn't even first choice at the start of the season. It's true that he now has to prove he can remain at that level, but he had a remarkable season last time out and it isn't "overrating" him to say so.

I think the reason most people claim he's overrated is because how quickly the media jumped on him as if he was the best English striker of the last decade last season, not because he's not a good player.

 

[Hansern]

I'm beginning to wonder whether all Scandoes reckon English fans invariably overrate English players. That was one of Modo's obsessions (it was what really lay behind his vendetta against Lallana) and sadly Hansern, who's generally a far more sensible sort, seems to be stuck in the same groove when it comes to Kane.

I've got no problem with aknowledging English talent mate .
And I'm not quite doing a Modo re Kane either.

As I said good player that had a great season last year. I just want to see more than 7-8 months of goals before labelling him in the top class forward bracket.
Maybe overrated is the wrong word to use. But he certainly wasnt thought of as clinical by anyone prior to his first goal last season. If he achieves similar this season then yes obviously its fair to call him that.

Maybe overhyped is more correct. He certainly hasnt looked clinical since April. To many games etc but he'll have to prove it for more than one season is all I'm saying.
But a great prospect, good player and he'll have a very good career.
But how good I dont think anyone really can say at the moment.

 

[Judge Jules]

Mystic: I don't think most people do think he's overrated. My experience based on this place and footy fans I talk to elsewhere is that, except for the odd unusually desperate Tottenham fan, most people think he's a very good player who has yet to show whether or not he'll suffer from Second Season Syndrome. If the press had been calling him the best British striker of the last decade that *would* be OTT, but I don't recall seeing that said anywhere.

 

[Mystic]

Mystic: I don't think most people do think he's overrated. My experience based on this place and footy fans I talk to elsewhere is that, except for the odd unusually desperate Tottenham fan, most people think he's a very good player who has yet to show whether or not he'll suffer from Second Season Syndrome. If the press had been calling him the best British striker of the last decade that *would* be OTT, but I don't recall seeing that said anywhere.

Slight hyperbole from myself maybe, but the levels of hype he was getting at stages last season was mad. To be fair, the hype has dropped down to reasonable levels this season, but it'll only take a good performance or two for it to start back up. This season will make or break him though, as an England fan I hope he does it, but I'm a much bigger Liverpool fan than I am England fan.

 

[mark1975]

Harry Kane is 100% overrated, people were talking about him last year as if he's going to lead the national team for the next 10 years. The problems with the English press, they always crazy hype any English player when they have a couple of months performing well, just see Calum Chambers, Jack Wilshere and Andros Townsend and so on. If he's still doing it at the end of the season, having got another return like last, then that's when he's earned the hype he's been getting, until then he's just another promising English player having a purple patch.

People talk about this like it's exclusive to the English media, I've lost count of the amount of times we've been linked with the next whoever from overseas, and it's not the English media allocating those nicknames. I don't remember anyone saying he was going to lead England for the next decade, people might have talked about his promise and maybe gone a bit overboard (I didn't think the Shearer comparisons were wide of the mark), but no more so than with any other player at that age who's just scored that many goals.

I'm not saying there isn't English hype, we play in the biggest league in the World and we inevitably big up our own (as well as Imports), but sometimes highlighting a players promise is justified, it certainly is with Kane in comparison to someone like, say, Andy Carroll.

 

[Mystic]

People talk about this like it's exclusive to the English media, I've lost count of the amount of times we've been linked with the next whoever from overseas, and it's not the English media allocating those nicknames. I don't remember anyone saying he was going to lead England for the next decade, people might have talked about his promise and maybe gone a bit overboard (I didn't think the Shearer comparisons were wide of the mark), but no more so than with any other player at that age who's just scored that many goals.

I'm not saying there isn't English hype, we play in the biggest league in the World and we inevitably big up our own (as well as Imports), but sometimes highlighting a players promise is justified, it certainly is with Kane in comparison to someone like, say, Andy Carroll.

I just hate how we take any English player and start heaping the pressure on them after a few good games, it's not good for anyone. Okay obviously Kane is much further than a few good games, but it still applies, give the players some time to grow and prove themselves without being labelled the next whatever, leave them be, the nation focusing on them is more likely than not going to hider their progress, not help it.

 

[mark1975]

I just hate how we take any English player and start heaping the pressure on them after a few good games, it's not good for anyone. Okay obviously Kane is much further than a few good games, but it still applies, give the players some time to grow and prove themselves without being labelled the next whatever, leave them be, the nation focusing on them is more likely than not going to hider their progress, not help it.

People say it's not good, at the end of the day, if you're good enough and mentally strong enough you'll rise in the game and make it, hype is there at every level. It might become a circus once you get to *this* level, but that's the environment these lads have got to work in. I do think the media are cunts btw for building players up to knock them down, but I guess resilience and how well you respond to bad press and poor form is what determines how far you will go.

 

[mr_moo]

United look average and haven't spent well

City look strong

Bournmouth style of at looks great.

Think the season could be the first time neither of the promoted prem clubs will get relegated

Dortmund look very strong again under Tuchel

Milan still look poor

PSG look like the team to beat again in France

Rafa will face a difficult season from the Real fans.

 

[Insignificance]

Oh Oh. .. dont like this hyping of the Swansea manager.....

 

[Fabio]

Oh Oh. .. dont like this hyping of the Swansea manager.....

So far he's done everything Rodgers did and more

SIGN

 

[FoxForceFive]

Oh and I don't get all this one season wonder talk with Kane. He's very good at footy

Yep, I said that first game of the season, he's ace on & off the ball. Unfortunately.

 

[Leo]

So far he's done everything Rodgers did and more

SIGN

He even tactically showed up Rodgers last season.
He's an exceptionally bright young coach.
I thought he was just a stop gap a few years ago but he's proving everyone wrong so far.
But we've seen this before with Martinez,Rodgers and Laudrup.

 

[Hansern]

Monk is a great young manager. Seems like a very likeable lad aswell.

Lets have the Kane discussion after the season when we can see how he fared in terms of goals.

 

[King Binny]

Swansea look brilliant. Gary Monk has done a great job there and they continue to look every bit the premier league team. Very impressive every time ive seen them so far.

Gary Monk's good record against the bigger teams continues. Completed the league double against Man Utd and Arsenal last season.

Took a point from Stamford Bridge as well as beating Man Utd yesterday.

 

[6TimesaRed]

Watching Eddie Howe post match interviews, cracks me up..

Until he starts moving his jaw and stop looking like he is doing a ventriloquist act when he is talking, I will never be able to take him seriously..


Football wise, City will walk it this season, Chelsea look a shadow of the team they where last season, Van Gaal is destroying UTD..

Swansea are a fantastic little side, will be this season's Southampton, Gary Monk is a good manager.

Ourselves, more of the same, we are shite. .

 

[LeTallecWiz]

Gary Monk is a good manager.

What did you think of the last two Swansea managers?

 

[Judge Jules]

So far he's done everything Rodgers did and more

SIGN

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!! Not because he isn't a good manager, since he clearly is, but because the Liverpool job isn't one for a young newcomer, however promising. That's an aspect of FSG's model that I've never been happy with. If Rodgers is now to be replaced, I would not appoint Klopp but would hang on till next summer and move Heaven and Earth to bring Ancelotti to LFC.

 

[6TimesaRed]

What did you think of the last two Swansea managers?

Both good managers... for a club like Swansea..

 

[leftpeg]

The current Swansea manager always speaks very highly of his last but one predecessor.

 

[Halmeister]

I honestly don't think Kane is very good at all. I said it all last season.