John P

The only thing he could possibly be thinking is that a foul for holding started outside the area, which we don't quite see on the video but looks possible as the striker is backing into the defender. Even then it's an incorrect interpretation of the rules as the foul continues into the box. Quite incredible incompetence really.

I agree, we only lost 2-1 to Man City so I'm going for a single goal loss here. 1-0. Awful game. Joselu to miss a header from 8 yards midway through the second half at 0-0.

On the ones I've seen, he always seems to do quite well and is usually as good as the current pros. He still has good technique, he just gets knackered from all the running.

Didn't realise there was an early game and didn't get a notification from my app saying "2 hours to select your team" or whatever, so didn't get the chance to captain Hazard

So we reckon Kenedy is working on his Dad bod then? I thought he was very good against Spurs and has been very poor since. Hoping it's just a run of bad form and he'll sort himself out soon, it happens to players.

Also beating Chelsea 4-2 in 1994. Just watching the YouTube highlights that are linked, Jesus, no way we'll ever get a pen that soft ever again. I was at that game. That little weasel Dennis Wise was having words with Rob Lee(?) as he was about to take that penalty. I’m not sure if that’s when we started hating Wise but i remember he got loads of abuse for the rest of the game and every match after that. Wise got sent off in that match IIRC. He did indeed, by Peter Jones, whose daughter I went to school with. He refereed our school cup final in the summer of 1994 and he was a right mardy git. Glad to see he took no shit from Wise though.

It's exactly what Messi does and occasionally Ronaldo as well. You have far more potential for causing the opposition bother if you ride challenges and exploit the space left by overcommitted defenders. With Hatem I think it was just that he loved having the ball at his feet so much and he knew if he went down he wouldn't have it any more He was an absolute joy to watch. I think that is true. It goes back to him being almost childlike in how he played the game. He got such a buzz from going past people and exciting the crowd that the idea of going down to win a free kick or penalty never even entered his mind.

One of the (many) things I loved about Hatem was how he would never dive or go down easily. Players would always try and bring him down but he never would take the option of just going to ground, he would try his hardest to get past them and really fight to stay on his feet.

Seems like this thread has been bumped every week since the beginning of the Championship season with clear penalties not given to us, dodgy ones given against us, red cards wrongly awarded to us and not given to the opposition etc to the point where it's getting fucking ridiculous now. That red card stat is insane. Not a single red card in 5 years? That surely goes beyond incompetence.

Why, exactly?

I thought Sane would be nailed on to be starting the first couple of games after having a great season, missing the World Cup and presumably getting a full pre-season under his belt. Who do we reckon is going to play more for them this season, Sane or Mahrez?

Arter's was a definite red for me (Clive). He just deliberately hacked him down from behind with excessive force at knee height man. It's a blatant red.

I believe that was after the 4th transfer window we were linked with him, and his stock kept rising higher. He'd be playing for Blyth Spartans by now.

Got a good feeling about this guy. Working his arse off will endear him to fans anyway, but I think he could surprise us with his quality too.

Can't believe we've come to a stage where we're absolutely delighted that Yedlin isn't out for a few months.

The mere suggestion that Cabaye was better than Rob Lee is absolutely mental like.

Were we awarded a penalty last season, home or away? EDIT: just remembered Joselu missing at home to Burnley. Was that the only one?

And this is why you need full back cover. If we had a manager who knew what he was doing, he would have pushed to sign another full back during the transfer window.

Love the zombies frame

It would appear he might be. Thanks. Decision made then

I'm stuck between these 2 sets of options: Son, Sane, Aubameyang or: Eriksen, De Bruyne, Firmino Thoughts? I think the second set is better midfield wise and that Eriksen and De Bruyne will get more points than Son and Sane, but Aubameyang had a pretty fucking impressive amount of points for the minutes he played last season?

Where's the Puncheon rumour coming from? He's fucking shit.

Can’t keep saying the next window is the real test. What use is taking an A-Level when you already failed your AS, GCSE, SATS, Spelling proficiency? The only test now is whether we can get Ashley and chums expelled ASAP before they can do further damage. A wonderful whoosh.

Probably time to lock this thread until January. That's the real test for me.

Has all the makings of being a flop for us like - small centre back who spent a season in France but returned to parent club because new manager didn't see him as part of first team plans. And we'd be chucking him into a fairly toxic atmosphere. What could possibly go wrong?