He said the PL would be a step down because he thought they'd trash City.
How can the PL be a step down from Ligue 1?
Thiago Silva: PL is a step down for Ibra
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In the latest episode of the United Hour Podcast, Nik @Rood and Imran @Annihilate Now! start with the good news by celebrating Manchester United Women's emphatic FA Cup win over Spurs at Wembley and the future of manager Marc Skinner.
Then it's the bad news and the ever worsening form of our Men with losses to Arsenal and Palace.
Finally the main debate - ETH Out now or keep him until the end of the season - if not longer. Are you Team Nik or Team Imran?
How can the PL be a step down from Ligue 1?
No it just means Rashford could walk the French league on his own if he wanted.
Completely disagree with the bolded, I think there is very little to suggest that they are better than the best English sides. Winning a poor league and constantly failing to deliver in Europe doesn't do it for me.
Good for you.
Sorry, I didn't mean to offend you
Whatever mate. Let's agree to disagree.
Fair do's. I'm probably still pissed you lot lost to City
I don't really think there could be any sensible argument, no matter how well put, that Ligue 1 is a superior championship to the EPL. PSG might be a better team than some of the teams in the EPL, but I think the general standard in England is much higher - City beating PSG illustrating the fact. PSG are so far ahead of all the other teams in Ligue 1 it's ridiculous. They didn't even lose a game until well into the season (March ?) and clinched the title a few weeks ago with a 9-0 victory...says it all really.
Failure is relative - the best English club sides are failing in a (tougher) league and are failing on any consistent basis in Europe. While PSG have reached 3 consecutive Champions League quarter finals, between England's 4 entrants they have only twice reached those final stages. So the entire English top four haven't made the quarter finals as often as PSG have over the last three seasons. Or to put it another way, that is 2 out of 12 attempts to reach the quarter finals, compared to PSG's 3/3.
He said that whoever he went to would be a step down from PSG. He didn't say Ligue 1 was Serie-A-circa-1991.
He's still wrong.
And the year prior to that the team that finished 6th in the PL won the CL.
Anyway, this is pointless, yesterday's result and in particular performance (over both legs) goes a long way in showing how much 'better' PSG are than the English teams. They were comfortably beaten over two legs by the team 15 points off the top of the PL - pretty damning. Just because they have some fancy names and walk a piss easy league doesn't really give their players the 'right' to start claiming they are better than every English team.
I'm fairly certain that Leicester would beat them and moving to any team competing near the top of the PL wouldn't be a step down for Zlatan.
Why do you keep setting setting PSG achievements as the parameter? PSG may have reached the quarter final stage but they have been eliminated by English sides in 2 of those 4 quarter finals. English sides may not have reached as many quarter finals but we have had 2 teams in the semi finals in that period. Something PSG struggle at.
How anyone can point to their CL campaign as a positive baffles me. They haven't achieved a thing.
CityFair do's. I'm probably still pissed you lot lost to City
I don't remember any game versus City.
LolCity
I don't remember any game versus City.
They were incredibly shite yesterday, though. Like, absurdly terrible considering the standard expected of them. The commentary admitted that. I mean, teams who aren't necessarily the favourites don't always win or go through. Arsenal were put out by Monaco in 2015 (I'm fairly sure), but that didn't mean that Monaco were necessarily a better team than Arsenal.
And if we're going down the CL route, then PSG comfortably disposed of England's best team last season. And on the basis of that, they'd have been far better than any PL team if we're going by the logic of only judging it based off of a CL tie.
I'd say a full strength, in form City side could arguably come quite close to PSG (and obviously put them out the CL), but the problem is that they don't often have that side, since a number of their best players are reputable for their injuries. And besides City, I'm struggling to think of a side who is objectively better than this PSG one, or as good as them. Arsenal aren't. Our United side isn't. Leicester and Spurs, despite both having superb squads that have performed brilliantly, aren't as good as them quality wise. Chelsea aren't. So, who's better than them, or at least close to them?
I get that the French league isn't brilliant, but it's selective to completely eliminate their dominant form in that league when there are some decent teams there, even if there's a lack of genuine, top class competition.
So there is literally nothing to suggest that PSG are better than all the English teams? I understand that you have that opinion but to be so bold to say it is 'undoubted' when there is nothing to even back it up is a bit of a joke to be honest.
Well...again, can you name one that's better? The only team I'd say that comes close is City, and even then I'd argue that PSG are a stronger team overall, especially considering City are regularly missing their best players. Besides City, can you name a team who has as much quality as PSG, and could realistically be considered as a better side?
City, and the 3 teams that are currently above them in the PL? Not saying it's 'undoubted' that these English teams are better than PSG but there's probably more to suggest that they are than they aren't - namely the straightforward victory City had over them across two legs.
PSG certainly do have some fancy names but that isn't enough for me to accept the likes of Silva and yourself claiming they are better than all English teams, especially 'undoubtedly'. You have to put your money where your mouth is when it comes to things like that and at the time of making the comment they hadn't, and hilariously a few hours later they were easily beaten by the team sitting 4th, 15 points off the top of the PL.
I can think of 3 teams better than City in the league this year.
PSG without Verratti or Matuidi are a different team. In fact PSG without Verrati are a completely different team, it would have been better for them if Ibrahimovic was injured and Verratti fit.
You really seem to be clutching onto this undoubtedly comment.
All I meant from that is that I'm fairly convinced that PSG are a better side than any current PL side. City didn't have a straightforward victory, considering they only won by one goal over the course of two legs.
Many of the fancy names PSG have are top players. Again, guys like Ibrahimovic didn't perform on Tuesday and are culpable for not performing in what was their clubs most important game of the season, but that doesn't mean they're not excellent footballers, many of whom would stroll into any Premier League side.
There are three clubs above City in the league, but again, I very much doubt anyone would claim that any of Leicester, Spurs or Arsenal are better sides than PSG. In the same way that in 2014-15, Arsenal went out of the CL to 3rd placed Monaco...even though I'd have strongly expected them to probably finish higher than Monaco did had they been in Ligue 1.
Well, yeah...but that doesn't mean that those sides are necessarily of higher quality than City, or PSG more importantly. Chelsea finished 6th in 2012, but won the CL after knocking out Barca and beating Bayern on penalties. I don't think anyone would've tried to assert that six PL sides were better than Barca and Bayern, considering that would've involved the likes of Spurs and Newcastle.
What big names do PSG have?
Motta?
Raboit?
Maxwell?
Lucas?
Cavani?
Matuidi?
Luiz?
City have better quality and bigger names than PSG. What have the above list accomplished?
Motta?
Raboit?
Maxwell?
Lucas?
Cavani?
Matuidi?
Luiz?
City have better quality and bigger names than PSG. What have the above list accomplished?
You really seem to be clutching onto this undoubtedly comment.
All I meant from that is that I'm fairly convinced that PSG are a better side than any current PL side. City didn't have a straightforward victory, considering they only won by one goal over the course of two legs.
Many of the fancy names PSG have are top players. Again, guys like Ibrahimovic didn't perform on Tuesday and are culpable for not performing in what was their clubs most important game of the season, but that doesn't mean they're not excellent footballers, many of whom would stroll into any Premier League side.
There are three clubs above City in the league, but again, I very much doubt anyone would claim that any of Leicester, Spurs or Arsenal are better sides than PSG. In the same way that in 2014-15, Arsenal went out of the CL to 3rd placed Monaco...even though I'd have strongly expected them to probably finish higher than Monaco did had they been in Ligue 1.
Well, yeah...but that doesn't mean that those sides are necessarily of higher quality than City, or PSG more importantly. Chelsea finished 6th in 2012, but won the CL after knocking out Barca and beating Bayern on penalties. I don't think anyone would've tried to assert that six PL sides were better than Barca and Bayern, considering that would've involved the likes of Spurs and Newcastle.
Yeah, maybe you should pick your words more carefully. 'Undoubtedly' means there is no doubt, PSG being better than all the English sides is something that is doubtful, especially after being beaten so easily by the team fourth in the PL.
I bet if Arsenal were top of Ligue 1 with the very same team they have now, you would be claiming that Arsenal are undoubtedly better than Leicester (probably because Carzola sounds more fancy than Drinkwater), but we know that they aren't. Same with City, if for some reason they had the same squad but we're sitting top of a shite league in a different country people would claim they are 'better' than Leicester, but again we know they aren't. I think a similar train of thought is being applied to PSG here by the likes of yourself and gio. You have to earn the right to make claims like Silva did or be able to back it up, PSG and Silva have done neither.
Di Maria, Zlatan and Thiago Silva are probably their best, but you're right, they can easily be equated to De Bruyne, Aguero and Kompany.
City are dreadful without Kompany.
It's not to the same extent and he is their playmaker.
Di Maria was signed after a flop year at United and Ibra is simply too old. They really dont have a wow player at the top of his game, they have Silva but he was sold to them against his will. Not exsctly a successful blueprint they can follow to recruit more stars.
For all the money they want to spend they will end up replacing Ibra with a Higuain / Morata and we will be back to pretending they have a top 5 player in their side because they scored 35 goals in France.
If they are that reliant on one player then the squad probably isn't as good as Thiago Silva thinks it is.
It's their only weakness and that's a huge one, last season they had cabaye who wasn't great but at least he was a decent deputy, this season they have no one. With Verratti they trash City, without him they are at City's level.
But we have to remember that they played most of the second leg without Motta, David Luiz, Verratti and Matuidi, that's the four first choices in midfield.
More importantly we were in terrible form at the worst time in the season, like Barca but with injuries and suspensions on top plus a brainfart from the manager.
That bad form also shows in the league. Earlier in the season we broke the unbeaten streak in L1 (36 with over 30 victories) but we lost 2 and drew 2 others in the last month. If we played like that all season we would sit comfortably in midtable of L1.
If people who only watch us a couple games a year think our piss poor display against City is our normal level, fair enough, we just had to perform better in the most important games of the season to avoid that, but a little bit of intellectual honesty should suggest that we are worth more than that.
That bad form also shows in the league. Earlier in the season we broke the unbeaten streak in L1 (36 with over 30 victories) but we lost 2 and drew 2 others in the last month. If we played like that all season we would sit comfortably in midtable of L1.
If people who only watch us a couple games a year think our piss poor display against City is our normal level, fair enough, we just had to perform better in the most important games of the season to avoid that, but a little bit of intellectual honesty should suggest that we are worth more than that.
Well on that basis City are better than PSG because they've beaten them in the CL.
What's the excuse for PSG losing against Chelsea in 2014 with Verrati, Matuidi and Motta playing then? Chelsea even gave them the advantage of not having sold Luiz to them yet.
City aren't exactly in form domestically either. In the their last 10 league games they've been beaten 3-1 by Leicester, 2-1 by Spurs, 5-1 by Chelsea, 3-0 by Liverpool, 1-0 by United and drew with Norwich and West Ham. They've only managed to beat Bournemouth, Villa and West brom (and even that was lucky). Unless you only watch City a couple of times a year you'll also know City are well under par at the moment.
Well it was 2014 and we are in 2016, and that's not an excuse like @Fergus' son said that weakness can be used against Thiago Silva's claim.
The difference is when you're bad during a couple weeks but were very good before you're in bad form, but when you're bad for the whole season and weren't especially good the season before you're shite. That's my reasoning at least and I think it makes sense.
Would that be the same City who are effectively 9 points behind Spurs given GD (tho' City have a game in hand) and whom Spurs have beaten twice this season, with a 5 - 1 aggregate score?
Can we all agree Ligue 1 is shite?
Undoubtedly!
:-p
:-p
I agree you are worth more than your last performance suggested - but are you worth enough for your CB and certain posters to claim that you are better than all English teams? Theres very little to suggest you are and more to suggest that you probably are not.
We're good enough for many people to share that opinion, Thiago Silva believes in the strength of his team, there's nothing wrong with that.
People are free to have different views, there's no definite truth in sports. The outrage from PL fans after his interview is a bit ridiculous.