midds

Sheff Wed man, 3 absolute bangers tonight already

I know they saying goes 'never accept the first bid' but in this case I would as I'm not totally sure there would be a second one coming. Lovely lad, works hard, not good enough

Ah right, makes sense, cheers gents

I just hope they sat him down after the match and explained how close we actually are to cracking it. Won't get a better moment to convince him to push it as far as possible. And I STILL maintain we should just sign the players now and discuss FFP if/when we get pulled up about it. Other clubs seem to be able to negotiate and explain their finances and avoid punishment, we should give that a go.

Cheers. Is he even registered?

Probably a daft question here but what's happened to Manquillo?

Doesn't benefit me but that's absolutely the right decision and well done to anyone who got a winner from it

This is the most unconvincing klopp interview I've ever seen. There's something not right there

A cross that was going in until the keeper pushed it wide. Utter bullshit. Scam

Ventolin FC look absolutely bang average tonight. 2 points from 9 is well below par

Was there someone else maybe playing him on? That looked really fucking odd mind

On? Wtf

Not on it but it needed to be tipped round/over. It's absolutely a sot

Salah & Diaz 2 sot each is 9s on sky. Looks big to me considering both should get the full 90 as there's no Nunez or Jota to replace them. In theory.

Almost as if someone has done it deliberately to make him look like the relentless prick he is

Really hoping that Neville and Carragher do a piece on the game yesterday before the match tonight. Sure they're having an extra half our pre-match to focus on a few, I'm guessing, Man U issues but surely they can spend 10 minutes looking at what happened yesterday in more detail. Wouldn't mind seeing a bit more about exactly how Leeds dismantled Chelsea too tbh.

But if Willock gets a touch then Almiron is off

Complete guess here but I think the lino thought Willock had made contact with the ball just before Almiron bundles it home? It's the only thing I can think of to explain it.

Both cynical as fuck tbh. Both deliberate attempts to stop attacks there and then. Difference is Trippier came in from the side and the ball could have been seen as just a trip/tackle. Allan's was directly from behind with the ball about 6 yards away and it was absolutely a hack/kick down with 0 chance of winning the ball rather than a bad/late lunge from the side. Don't like either tackle tbh but Fernandinho and Fabinho have been doing this cynical shit for years now. "taking one for the team" is now seen as a smart and good thing so fuck it. It's a yellow, move on.

Because Stones was wearing a correct shirt at the time. Apparently elbowing someone in the head is absolutely fine if you're wearing one of the correct shirts

I still think he looks a little clumsy in possession tbh though. He'll learn when to lay it off, when to carry it and when to feed the winger with time and experience though. I don't think his role is to pick passes right now, he's primarily there to destroy and disrupt. Put Paqueta into that CM 3 and it'll fucking fizz

Redemption arc is almost complete, he's become a phenomenal CM within about 8 months. He breaks up play, regains possession, stops attacks, gives the ball sensibly, fantastic stamina and is developing a footballing brain too. He looked tragic as a 9 under Bruce but he looks amazing under Howe right now. He's gone from legit one of the biggest/worst buys in PL history to an absolute bargain, even at £40m. It's an incredible story and he deserves every bit of praise he's getting, he's turned it around and it's mint to see him happy here

Can't remember him making a single mistake today, love the way he just comes out and collects from 70% of crosses, makes a huge difference that. Chance to regroup, reset the formation and 30 seconds of air into the lungs when you're under pressure. Little things make a difference. Just remembered we bought him from Burnley though and therefore he's automatically definitely absolutely fucking shit. Damn, I was pleased there for a minute or 2 and thought £10m was a bit of a bargain

Best thing about today's performance and result was the fact that Howe was definitely more bullish about the game in the pre-match pressers. He talked about going out and treating them as equals, matching up to them and using them as a meter to judge where we are and how far we've come (paraphrasing obviously). He talked us up and said we'd have a go AND THEN FOLLOWED IT UP with that performance today. That's huge. It's all well and good being diplomatic before the game and being respectful but he made no changes to the team at all. Same players, same formation, fuck it, let's have a go and the team responded. He's a breath of fresh air, doesn't talk us down, doesn't show too much respect, doesn't come across as a meek little fucker before the game and is brave enough to have a go on the day too. Not just that but he's got enough nous to adapt it in-game too. We are absolutely pointing in the right direction under Howe, he's got it, he's proving it each week.

Home debut - Man City and Haaland. Doesn't come much more difficult than that in any domestic league. Thought he did well all things considered.