brummie

That is big, big troubs for Sunderland. I was relatively convinced they'd survive a few weeks ago, but the weeks go by and they don't seem to be moving anywhere.

I've never really noticed this before, but how come the seats at the (awfully named) Stadium of Light are so pink?

I've seen most of the game and am amazed how poor they've been.

I don't go out of my way to watch Man United, but I have to say, I agree. Every time I see them play, he seems to be moping around like he can't be fucking bothered any more. Excellent.

Have to say, fair play to Pepe Mel for at least having a go, while Pochettino, who has been here much longer, doesn't even try.

Him, Vlaar and Guzan have been a different class for us this year.

When Geoff Shreeve just said about Aguero 'it's his haaaaamstring" did anyone else find themselves thinking how incredibly FIFA 14 it was?

I dunno, but I think he should have a word with Mo Farah.

Of course they do. If your father arrived on the Windrush, then I can see how you'd feel the strength of heritage there, but I'd imagine the likes of, say, Daniel Sturridge, feel their heritage is more about kicking a ball around a playground in Birmingham as a child than it is about whichever location his ancestors came from. For all his faults (mainly his being an absolute twat), try telling, say, Ian Wright that his heritage is anything other than being English - especially in a football context.

Did anyone else just hear Tony Pulis saying how anti diving he is as a matter of principle and find themselve wondering where said concern was when he was managing the most horribly cynical purveyors of gamesmanship the game has seen in decades?

It's a definite headbutt.

It's absolutely nothing but wishful thinking. Ah, ok, gotcha. Haven't been around that much of late, so out of touch.

Genuine question, ignoring today, why does anyone think he's going to get sacked when you are 8th? Amazing stuff that, though. What an absolute fucking clown shoe.

Actually, we are, too. Which is about as laughable as you adhering to it. I've a feeling there's an increasingly wide ranging acceptance at clubs like us and you that, to make the jump into the CL places is prohibitively expensive, and the increase in earnings from 3 or 4 places higher up the league (when you are in the middle) doesn't really justify the risk and expense involved in having a punt at it. So what they do instead is talk about managing wage bills, being FFP compliant, "seeking value" (that's us and our £1m lower league players, which is fine when it is one or two, but not the whole squad almost) and reining in expectations. I have thought for a while that FFP adherence is manna from heaven for owners who want to limit their exposure. Managing the expenditure and generally bobbing along, not getting relegated and ensuring a certain level of income is where it's at for them.

Also, something of note for you - he's playing Baker alongside Vlaar. Mistake. Clark should be there, much better player.

Guzan Bacuna - Baker - Vlaar - Bertrand Westwood - El Ahmadi - Delph Weimann - Benteke - Agbonlahor Is our line up. I don't understand why the only player who has looked even half decent of late - Albrighton - is on the bench. Not to mention how Westwood keeps getting picked.

Jesus, reading stuff like this, I can see why you get so annoyed by Pardew. This sounds like absolute bullshit management speak.

I think both Mike Ashley and Randy Lerner look like owners who are not going to go out of their way to advertise their willingness to sell, lest it affect the purchase price, but would gladly do so if someone offered them enough. Lerner has gone from attending matches home and away (he was even spotted at Scunthorpe in the league cup) and having a Villa tattoo on his ankle, to attending once or twice a year at the most. Mind you, having seen the luke warm sick we get spoon fed week in, week out at home, i don't really blame him. Ashley looks the same, gradual disengagement, with an extra flourish of poor decision making to keep it vaguely interesting.

I know this is how it works, but I have read this whole thread and had a right old chuckle. You wouldn't all be so miserable if you had any idea just how incomprehensibly feeble we have been for months now. We haven't even gt a particularly good away record anymore, either. It's weird Brummie, when I watched your lot play Liverpool you looked like a decent team, with plenty of purpose and attacking intent. Lambert seemed to have set you up to play 1-2's in the channels with a view to getting in behind and playing balls into the box. We do that. We play for 30 minutes here and there, put in a good performance. Then we just go to shit. There's no way, for example, we're capable of playing well for 90 minutes. Not 90 consecutive minutes, anyway. Maybe across four or five games, then we'd have a chance, but of late we've been abysmal. I've started to think lately that Lambo doesn't really "do" tactics. If we concede a goal or two, he'll go totally gung-ho to get back into it. Sometimes (like the two matches against Albion, one away where we were two down inside the first 12 minutes, and the home one where it was two down in the first 8 minutes) it works spectacularly well. Other times, though, he just goes mad, makes a few subs and sets us up with five up front and no midfield. It's usually entertaining to watch, but it is a bit nuts. Our problem at the moment is the midfield. He just doesn't seem to be able to permutate a selection from our options there which will work with any regularity. If you set out to attack us, then it could be a decent game. If you don't, then I suspect it'll be like watching two bald men fighting over a comb.

yep. He's very likeable in many ways, too, but he's a terrible, terrible loser. You'd think he'd be well used to losing, given the 600 unsuccessful Arsenal Champions League campaigns he has overseen, too. I remember when Hull City won at the Emirates in their first ever top flight season. They were well worth the win. Nothing even remotely lucky about it. Wenger gave the most ungracious, self-centred, delusional post match interview I think I've ever seen. It's one thing to hate losing, but it is another entirely to be quite so graceless when it happens to you.

What happens if they score off the rebound? Well, if it's like a shootout pen, it counts as a miss and the red card is applied. Too complicated. Anything that involves changing the laws of the game is wrong. As proven by this last-man-on-goal nonsense in the first place.

I don't understand why any fan of a team not regularly in the CL in this country would want anything other than the English teams in it to do as badly as possible. Them doing well just increases the enormous financial have/have not gulf that the CL creates in the first place. It is totally, totally not in our interest, no matter how much know-nothing idiots like Clive Tyldesley think otherwise. Also, I want the list of English teams to have won the big cup to remain as exclusive as possible, but I shall whisper it only on here.

Ha ha ha. Your dad would proper batter my dad. Ear biting, head stamping, the lot. No bother.

I know this is how it works, but I have read this whole thread and had a right old chuckle. You wouldn't all be so miserable if you had any idea just how incomprehensibly feeble we have been for months now. We haven't even gt a particularly good away record anymore, either.

I hate it when they do that. It is cheating. John Aldridge was always terrible for that, the cheating cunt.