Colos Short and Curlies

I just don't get why some people watch football. Its surely got to be about being entertained hasn't it? Yes the result is important, but spending thousands of pounds (willingly) in order to watch Gouffran or Colback and enjoy it more than wathcing a HBA or a Robert just because they track back and we got a point against West Brom? Sounds like a skewed sense of value for money.

Remember when we thought Chopra was going to be our Rooney?!

Score in the first 20 and I can see us getting 3 or 4. Scoreless after 20 and we'll struggle to break em down

Unless Elliott is 100% fit I would start Woodman. Pointless risking needing to use a substitute for a GK who you know has a risk of not lasting the 90.

Rooney's problem is that he hasn't adapted his game enough as time catches up with him. Considering he hasn't had any real injury problems (only the metatarsal comes to mind), his decline has been remarkedly rapid and hes now just an ineffective version of his younger self. You look at someone like Shearer who managed to adapt his game despite 2(?) ACL injuries and the Goodison leg knack and be effective into his 30s, but Rooney has just continued to be Rooney, now just not as good. Gerrard was another one who failed to adapt enough and then saw a rapid decline from being an explosive all action midfielder, to a really ineffective holding midfielder.

If we hadn't loved and lost Benny, I wonder how many of the people still slagging him off would have him top of their wish lists for January, and probably think he was way out of our league.

I hope teams refuse to play in them if they go ahead See, I like this attitude that there has to be some kind of stand made against them but the world cup is the best thing about football so I'd be pretty pissed off if there was no real world cup for 12 years The major clubs would just put on an unofficial tournament in its place. Too much money to be lost (both inside and outside the game) to be having nothing

They are, but apart from Colo on Suarez I can't recall many times when they've targeted or retaliated on anyone, it's more frustration when things go wrong when they have a mind fuck

After really enjoying the game after sitting through a boring merseyside Derby 2 weeks ago, I'm going to petition for all clubs to be forced to play rubbish defences.

Villa fan I know can't stand him or Wilkins. Thinks they are down unless they leave soon (sounds familiar!)

And then you'll get the ironic 'Big Dave' on a 5'5 winger and 'Little Dave' on a 6'4 Centre back. But then 'Sir Les' would have looked good on the 95-96 shirt

Mitro hat trick coming up

Anyone see the story front page of the Mirror today about a Liverpool fan pretending to be disabled in order to get into the wheelchair area for the derby? Salt of the earth these boys

Latter day Harper was pretty good at that as well mind.

Been on hold with Halifax for an hour (after trying for an hour last night and again at lunch time). Probably more interesting listening to the dial tone than the game

Theres two, in a city of obscenely beautiful women they impressively raised the bar with a few I was on course with a guy from Prague a couple of years back. I asked if he ever thought about moving and his reply was 'have you seen our women? Have you tasted our beer? and then smiled. I thought about replying the same about Newcastle but he had heard of the Bigg market

Can we add a countdown to 5 yellow cards in the thread title?

Should be competing to be top of the third group of teams (City, Man U, Chelsea, Arsenal = 1, Spurs, Liverpool =2). The next 6-7 spots will be tight throughout the season and we should be up there with Everton and Swansea rather than down with Palace and West Ham

Put Colback in that line up and then play 'spot the odd man out' That front 4 would cause Arsenal no end of problems, then the possibility of Aarons and Sissoko from the bench when legs get a bit tired

Yeah I never had a problem fielding 'weakened' teams against clearly inferior teams like, the problem is as we know Pardew only cares about his first 11 or so players and makes no effort to integrate fringe players properly so he was essentially just throwing them in and hoping it came good. Plus he wasn't really trying to win anyway the prick. That's the key part - we could have put out our first 11 in the 'fifth' season and still get knocked out by Stevenage Borough (years may not actually align!) all because they were told to stroll around and not exert themselves. Now I reckon that any team we put out will be under instruction to play it like a league game

Two things for certain... Giroud will score and Walcott will score

Sod the stereotype of us loving a number nine up here - we love a mecurial left footed Frenchman more

Mbemba and Taylor centrally 100%. We're going to see the partnership at some point through necessity so makes sense to give it game time on Tuesday. Lascelles to come on second half for Taylor. Janmaat to come back in at RB, either Dummet or Haidara LB, don't mind. Tiote, Anita, Wij midfield three with Aarons, Perez and Mitrovic up front. I'd be tempted to give Darlow game time as well

Bar Colback and Obertan they all deserve their Dominoes on the bus home this evening. It's getting there and a bloody good 'bonus' point at this stage

Didn't Edgar also score in that game?