midds

Makes picking the weekend acca a bit easier however. Blackpool to lose every week

Not sure of the exact implications of the decision today but I think any significant legal defeat for the PL and it's rules has to be seen as a good thing. The wording, the consistency and the application of their rules has been called into question and upheld. That should encourage any past and future sanctions to be appealed by any club with a bit more confidence now. This isn't the end of it all but it's a start

Been of the same opinion for a long time now about the ground an I've always very much been in the 'let's stay and make SJP as good and as big as it can be'. I'm hugely attached to that grass rectangle of land that has seen nearly 130 years of football and history and tradition, you literally can't buy that as it's completely priceless. How many sporting teams can say they've got 130+ years of memories all played out on the same bit of turf? I love the bones of the place and expanding to 80,000 on the current site would be dreamworld but that's simply not feasible Due to the current state of football finances I think we 100% need that new stadium, just up the road, in order to just have the chance to compete. If we want the team to be as big and as good as it can be then I can't see that happening without a new stadium. And if we're doing it let's make it a fuck off, massive 80,000+ stadium that's going to ensure the next generation of fans can get a ticket too. It'll hurt but I think it needs to happen

Just from sheer body language and his response to some awkward questions in the post match presser he looks massively rattled and is struggling to justify results and how he's got his team (not) performing. Hard to judge because he's trying to answer in English rather than Dutch but he looked utterly lost when the reporter reeled off a list of things that his team were doing poorly, almost felt a little sorry for him for a nanosecond. He's under huge pressure now, not just for the early results but for the way they've come about

That de Ligt tackle would worry me today. He was a mile behind play and was never ever getting there but he went for it regardless. He looked a second behind and just not up to the PL pace, it's his first game and he kind of gets a pass for that but making a huge lunge like that when everyone in the ground knew he wasn't getting there is a bit of a red flag for the future

He played his part today and did ok. I still think he's extremely limited but his weaknesses are amplified when he's on the ball and needs to do something creative and productive. We were under the cosh for an hour but he held firm, stuck it out, got a foot in when necessary and disrupted Spurs' attacks. When we're on the back foot and soaking it up then he always looks better. Ask him to bring it out or pass/create then he's out of his zone. He did well enough today, solid 6 or 7 out of 10. The score on BBC is a joke

Can't dismiss the fact he inherited an utter shambles too. Under Bruce we were a unorganised, unmotivated pushover of a team and soft as puppy shit. To flip it around as quickly as he did was/is and get stats like that is phenomenal

No more than bantz scores that boring fuckers think are still funny. Nothing to see, move along

You also can't discount the fact he took over the team that finished 2nd to City (12 points adrift) just a few months earlier. He inherited one of the best squads in the division, has spent all that money (I'm sure they've recouped quite a bit back obviously) and they're further away from challenging as they've been for decades. He's got to be on a very, very short leash

I'll be honest I thought it looked a good tackle at the time. It looked like he slid in and knicked it out for a corner first time around. I never got a chance to see it much again as play continued and it barely got a mention for the rest of the game by comms and Sky in general Would be nice to see a few angles of it but it's not that important as we won anyway

Can't bait him and complain when he wades in and has a pop back mind...

Striker off, CM on. Need to protect the 0-3 loss

Went through him like a fucking combine harvester That's probably a straight red in the 90s let alone now

Matthijs de Late there

Scousers just toying with them now, popping it about like they're training against the stiffs

Man U have completely lost their heads. Crumbled yet again under this fraud prick

Jesus, this is a battering now

Don't think it would be the worst thing in the world if he pulled out of the International squad and use the time to get his body and mind a bit of rest. He looks tired and a bit listless, doesn't seem quite focused and looks a little laboured. The rest would do him good imo. I don't think it'll happen mind, he won't want to give anyone a chance to take his place which I understand. He'll want to play as much as possible, but I think that's half the problem, he needs a rest mentally and physically. Imo obviously

7/9 and through to the next round of the cup - can't see anyone who wouldn't have taken that a month ago. There are issues mind, we've looked decidedly off colour in all 4 games and we're nowhere near clicking. But we've now got a little time to have a bit of a reset and tweak a few things before we're right back into our groove. Got every faith he can put the shite window (and all of the storm it's created) behind him and get us playing a little better

Awful mistake/decision for their goal, can only assume he's still not sure about going full stretch to turn shots around the post of he can possibly help it. Maybe scared of the landing he'd get? Not sure but he also made 3 or 4 excellent saves too. The mistake will be highlighted but he also kept us in the game too

Nice and solid today, didn't really notice he was there today which is a good thing. Just went about his business quietly and calmly, he's obviously not great on the ball but I think you can hide those weaknesses a lot more in games like today. Just did the basics really well and never overplayed it, just nice and simple. Good stuff

If 3 apples and 2 pears cost £2.70 and 2 apples and 5 pears cost £3.60 why the fuck were you still negotiating with Parish after he went public for the first time about Marc Guehi?

You all know where to hang it. The ultimate collapse of the Evv, it's majestic

Game will be won and lost in CM (as many are), if we go Bruno, Tonali and Joelinton then I'd fancy us to edge it by a goal. They've got some talent though and we'll need to raise the levels a bit from what we've seen so far this season if we're going to do it. Mainly worried about their pace on the break, Son, Kulu and Johnson could glide past Krafth and Burn given the chances

It's a 2/10 unfortunately First team not strengthened at all Squad strengthened slightly Deadwood mostly still here It's basically pigshit. It's a collective failure and we've been made to look like fucking idiots considering we're throwing in £60m bids for a month and still not getting players in. Couldn't even get a player on loan to paper over the cracks