Taylor Swift

Motherfuckers, fuck off.

Not sure I follow this, Pip. Are you saying that other teams don't appoint people that they think are best for them? Eh? I'm saying some teams make appointments based on the newest big name that they can get. You look at Chelsea who got Mourinho who was successful, then they veered to Scolari who was highly rated because of his spell with Portugal, then they switched to Ancelotti who was done with Milan, then AVB because the media think he's Mourinho mk2. You look at a team like Bolton, hiring someone like Coyle, who had Burnley playing decent football for 6 months. That's not showing any foresight or judgment. That's being reflexive and reactive. I'm saying Liverpool have a history of appointing people they thought were best for them regardless of the situation, and Hodgson is the exception - he was the only one who they hired who was a 'media' guy. My analysis isn't completely scientific so it might sound like a load of crap - it might even be a load of crap, actually - but you can look at how teams hire managers and see whether they're doing it with sense or not. It doesn't take a genius to figure out whether appointing someone like Wenger was done with a view towards the future or hiring someone like Bruce was done because he'd had a good time with two previous mid-table teams. You can usually tell by how much backing the board give the manager. Someone like Scolari had a short leash because Abramovich is reactive, proven by the fact that he sacked Ancelotti one season after winning the double. Sometimes circumstances drive the narrative. Like Hodgson 'deserving' a shot at a big club and Liverpool needing a manager. But sometimes they don't. Sometimes clubs go against conventional thinking because they have good reason to - like hiring Dalglish, for example. It might not work out every time, but imo it has a higher success rate.

The exception is Hodgson but over the past 15+ years, they've always appointed someone who they thought was best for them. Like it or not, it's true.

Valdes?

When you bomb out of the WC in '14 and reports come out of players disrespecting Redknapp and undermining his authority then the FA will back up a truckload of cash onto the biggest, unemployed foreign manager out there. You did it with Sven, you did it with Capello. You'll do it again. It's a shame that the FA is reactive in these hirings and that they don't possess enough foresight to actually hire the best man for the job, regardless of public opinion. I'll be honest: you look at a team like Liverpool and they've always hired who they thought was best for them, regardless of what the media think. They don't react to the failures by swinging to the opposite side of the pendulum, and they've been moderately successful in spite of the financial constraints that they have.

Rooney/Wellbeck Oxlade-Chamberlain Sturridge/Johnson Wilshere Parker Cleverley Cole Smalling P Jones Richards This is a great time to manage England if you have the balls to play a young, technical team like above.

Just let him in stay. We need a mackem on the board, anyway. If he turns out to be an idiot then ban him, but this is the only good sports forum that I've read that doesn't have a good rival poster. Maybe he'll be all right?

We have still conceded 5 to Fulham and 4 to West Brom though so it can still happen even if we are much tighter than we used to be.. 3. It was 4 to Norwich, but even so, I thought we gave it a good go in that match, as we did in the Fulham and West Brom one. I certainly think we'll give it a good go in this one as well. If we get anything from this then it's a bonus, a freebie.

It's not in our DNA to get smashed. Yes, that sounds unbelievable but it can not be more true. We haven't been smashed all season, really. We'll put up a good fight, and hopefully come away with a point. I think they'll win 1-0 or 2-1, but one thing I'm sure of is that I'll feel satisfied with our effort - like I've been for 90% of the games this season. It's such a refreshing feeling to know that you're going to get a performance from the team every week.

Never a penalty.

Hat-trick.

Any reason to post this: How can she slap This is amazing. The 'You Go?' still gets a good laugh whenever someone does it in my group.

So it turns out I was right then

Painfully clear after not having ten starts. Are you kiddin me?

Not every WC buy fails. Ozil and Khedira are good examples of those who have made the step up. Diego Godin, another one.

Oh fuck off, Suarez.

Walcott is dreadful. How has Chamberlain not been starting all this time?

What is Wenger doing? Chamberlain has been their second best player. Koscielny has been superb, by the way.

Walcott is the worst player on the pitch. Chamberlain is already so much better than him, it ain't even funny.

Can I congratulate myself for being dead right about him?

Palace chairman came out and said Clyne's refusing to sign a new contract. Looks like he's off now in Jan or in the summer.

You guys are judging him far too quickly - as many on here did exactly the same after his first few matches in which he was shit. People have changed their tune now but you're still reserving far too much judgment for no reason. Quality always shines through.

He's easily worth 12m, by the way, and is good enough to play for a top 4 side. Young for 18m, Downing for 20m, Valencia for 18m etc. This guy is worth 15m+ in this market. The only doubt was whether he would settle in but he looks well on the way to doing that now.

He's mobile and strong. He's a different player to the likes of Ben Arfa and Silva. He's got great technique so everyone thinks he's an attacking midfielder, but he's not. He plays more forward and he'll score a lot more. In time, people will see his quality. Jol has just set up the team in the way he has to allow Ruiz time to settle in. He didn't get enough of the ball playing up front at the start, so he pulled him back to get him more of the ball. It's called good management and making use of the players he has in his squad. When's he's familiar with the pace of the game, he'll be moved further up the pitch and he'll be more dangerous.