Taylor Swift

Cole, 3-0.

Kuyt hits the post.

Huth, 1-1.

Nope, but I think he got an assist. Nice. Shirked some challenges but I assume Moyes will sort that out real quick. Otherwise, he looked pretty decent.

2-2, Rosicky in the 92nd minute.

10 on Owen

Merry Xmas, lads. Top of the table

Lampard! Cool as fuck. 1-1.

Ref orders another re-take

1-1, anyway. Lampard scores.

Ref orders a re-take. 10 players in the box before the pen was taken

Upson got all ball but ref gives the pen. Lampard to take. 1-1.

OTOH, if they survive by a point, he'll probably be patting himself on the back for the points they just won against Burnley.

It's not likely that they could have won this game whilst testing Man Utd. They weren't going to test Man Utd, anyway. They had already lost 4-0 and 4-1 to Chelsea and Arsenal which shows that the first team cannot compete with teams at that level so why not just give his players the day off and save them for Burnley? The strategy obviously worked as they're now up to 12th.

So, given Wolves are up 2-0, I'd say McCarthy's decision has been vindicated. What say you?

holy shit

Get in.

Get in, Villa. Awesome. FT.

What a ridiculous line-up. Hughton is either a tactical genius or one lucky fucking cunt.

Other teams can go on similar runs so we have to aim to for 90 points because that'll get us automatically promoted, for sure. The only team in the league apart from us capable of that are WBA...Boro perhaps. Would you have said Sunderland had a chance of going on that kind of run after accumulating only 34 points from 23 games? Anything can happen because this division is shite.

Please, just because he playacts every now and then doesn't mean he should be subjected to racial abuse. The fact that he is facing racial abuse suggests to me that those sentiments already existed in the minds of certain Italians and his personality and style of play is just a convenient excuse to air the aforementioned feelings. Why would Juve fans boo Trezeguet or Melo? They don't give a f*** whether a Frenchie is black or a Brazilian is black. The relevance of booing Balotelli is that he considers himself Italian, has represented Italy at u-21 levels and therefore, according to civilised nations, would be considered Italian. That is in conflict with how Italians historically view themselves (white, loves pizza etc.) so there's no doubt that Balotelli's skin colour is creating a conflict in many people's view of what an Italian is. That's why he's facing racist abuse and that's why this is a huge deal. I can't believe you're actually blaming the victim Racist's don't care what country you are from, they boo you because of your skin not because of your passport. Lazio proved that, youtube it, they boo manfredini and make monkey noises when his name is read out, yet they cheer him when he scores. I'd be happy for him to play for the full team if his skill merits it, I would not want him to be played on the grounds of 'proving italy isn't racist.' Because that's just daft. I think he suffered abuse last year but instead of use his talent to show the small section what he can do, he instead has gone on like a complete fool. He was not booed because he asked to represent Italy, I don't even think it's a problem for as many as you are making out, I think his attitude is his biggest problem in getting into the national team right now, not his skin colour, his situation is not like Cassano's who is being forceably kept out of the team. Right now there are names ahead of Balotelli, Cassano, Rossi are two, because both are more consistent and offer more. Like I have said if he sorts himself out stops the flamboyant play acting and general idiocy on the pitch, Suzie Camponari highlighted it best, when he gets more consistency in his game, he can have no reason to be kept out of the squad. Of course racists give a shit about the country that you're from. I think the vast majority of people in the world have no problems with African Americans who live in America, but the white Americans did because it's happening in their country, it's happening right in their faces; that these people - people who don't look like them, talk like them nor act like them - now have the same rights and privileges that they do just because they're born in the same place. It creates a conflict because the country that you identified yourself with is now also the same country that a different group of people identify themselves with. Can't you see how that creates a problem? It's tougher to identify yourself with that country now so you either a) accept and embrace new values or b) reject the other people's claims. A minority of Italians obviously reject the fact that Balotelli is Italian because he represents a different group of people, right? That's why he's facing abuse. Nationalism is unfortunately still a strong sentiment today and Balotelli being abused is an expression of it.

He's 19 years old. Give the kid a break. He'll come good because his determination is already there for all to see. The fact that he's reacting to abuse shows that he cares; now he just needs to channel it to his football because that's the most effective response. I'm not sure if he understands this yet but immaturity is quite a common trait for teenagers. He's already a very talented footballer who has a big role to play for one of Europe's top teams. He has also shown that he can score in the top competitions in the world, so I expect that he'll be a fixture in the national team soon enough.

Please, just because he playacts every now and then doesn't mean he should be subjected to racial abuse. The fact that he is facing racial abuse suggests to me that those sentiments already existed in the minds of certain Italians and his personality and style of play is just a convenient excuse to air the aforementioned feelings. Why would Juve fans boo Trezeguet or Melo? They don't give a fuck whether a Frenchie is black or a Brazilian is black. The relevance of booing Balotelli is that he considers himself Italian, has represented Italy at u-21 levels and therefore, according to civilised nations, would be considered Italian. That is in conflict with how Italians historically view themselves (white, loves pizza etc.) so there's no doubt that Balotelli's skin colour is creating a conflict in many people's view of what an Italian is. That's why he's facing racist abuse and that's why this is a huge deal. I can't believe you're actually blaming the victim

Historically people have separated themselves according to how they look so I suppose in certain parts of the world those feelings are still prevalent/can surface. It's obviously more of a surprise that it's happening in Western Europe but I agree with the sentiments re: Balotelli being more Italian than Rossi and Camoranesi. Edit: Rossi and Camoranesi are, however, more 'Italian' in terms of bloodline than Balotelli.

Other teams can go on similar runs so we have to aim to for 90 points because that'll get us automatically promoted, for sure.