Pilko

"This is gonna be the best Christmas ever" just before someone in Albert Square gets their head caved in.

I'd have thought you'd be more of a fan of Stephen Hawking's Football Boots if any

Feel like the crowd will be flat as a fart with it being early kick-off the day after Christmas. Hopefully we see Livramento & Botman play.

He's definitely a manager who sticks to his core system and his principles even when things aren't going our way, which is light years better than a tit like Bruce or someone clueless chopping and changing things constantly with no discernable pattern. But... away from home this season and particularly lately it is starting to feel a little bit like flogging a dead horse. The wide players and the forwards particularly look absolutely beat, yet the system depends on them hugely to have lots of energy. We're starting to get players back now but the core team isn't getting a rest - how long does he keep going away from home in similar vein? It's a real test of his mettle but I wonder if he reverts to something with something less dependency on that energy, narrower, more compact that grinds out results whilst we're in this away form rut. Today wasn't good enough, players and manager. He'll know that, and he'll also know everyone watching is giving him at very least a partial pardon because of the injuries and the schedule. I just hope we don't go to Sunderland and play like that today or we'll be buried. Can't help but think that surely next season he won't have as much shit go against him either - rock hard cup draws, Tonali, injury crisis, narrow margins in the CL (woodwork several times, PSG pen farce) - there's definitely an element of shit luck this year that can't continue for ever.

The fatigue and lack of rotation lately is definitely a factor and there's only so much we can do to mitigate for it. But in the same breath, this has been not good enough today and we shouldn't just accept it as down to tiredness and move on. The away form at the minute is horrific. We rely so much on the wingers and they're both absolutely shagged, I'd like to think sooner or later we revert to something narrower it the options to rotate aren't coming back quickly enough.

Tired or not, we need to sort this away form out before the derby. Play like this and we'll get fucking murdered.

Ah, excellent.

Not sure about the "elite" thing but I think Eddie's only major missing piece when compared to some of the names bandied about is his lack of European competition / "big table" experience and fighting on that extra front, which obviously is taking a huge step forwards this year with the experiences we're going through. We've seen how he learns and strives for self-improvement, another 2 or 3 European campaigns under his belt and more experience in big games and finals etc and there's no reason why he can't be in that "elite" category, however you define it. The trophies etc will come. He's definitely got the tools and the mindset to be right up there, he just hasn't been exposed to enough of the scenarios above at the top level due to a long "road less travelled" at Bournemouth. The experiences he'll have had there taking the club from its knees and big pressure games, winning promotions etc will be worth their weight in gold, now he's doing it again but just at the very top level with more money, more pressure, more exposure and against the very very best.

He's got two computers and I don't even know what he uses them for.

Impressive being able to write an article of reasonable length and yet say absolutely nothing of value, insight or substance.

I know they're near the bottom of the league and crap but I'd snap your hand off for a point, Trippier to have a nice steady game and no more bloody injuries.

His status and what he's done for us aren't even in question, but he's had an absolute shitter of a time lately. I'm sure he'll bounce back but he needs to cut these basic errors out, they're exactly what someone with loads of experience shouldn't be doing.

How many more times is he going to cost us? He's had a shocking month, fatigue or not.

Absolutely pathetic cunt in the middle today. Lost control of it. Gallagher should have walked for a dive and then his foul, let alone the non red for Caicedo and the assault from Colwill.

Trippier again man. Fucking shite.

Palace would be a good one for Cooper I think. The foundations are there, if he can get them to kick on into 8th-10th and playing more expansive stuff he'll come out of that stock high again. Nuno will probably establish Forest as a lower-mid-table outfit but I reckon Cooper would have done that anyway if they'd just left him be. Suppose it makes sense to do it either pre-January or wait til the end of the season if you are making a change.

Palace 1-1 Brighton Villa 3-0 Sheff United West Ham 3-2 Man United Fulham 2-0 Burnley Luton 1-1 Newcastle Forest 2-2 Bournemouth Spurs 2-1 Everton Liverpool 2-0 Arsenal Wolves 2-0 Chelsea

Been a great game so far this, but if Kieran fucking Dewsbury-Hall is outpacing both your central defenders you're not going to do anything in this league

Who invented this "sit on the advertising boards, fold your arms and nod" thing after scoring? Kudus did it the other day and now the Leicester goalscorer just did it. Glad the Leicester scorer was booked, not for leaving the field of play necessarily but for such a shit celebration.

https://www.readytogo.net/smb/threads/longship-pub-closed-in-hebburn-due-to-fighting-mags-got-a-hiding.1622462/ This is a laugh too. A pub in Hebburn apparently closed early due to fighting, absolutely no evidence of who was involved other than him saying the people who got filled in were mags Must be class sat round chickentown way with time to spare making up stories like that. Probably how they fill the time we spend watching our side play midweek matches in various cups and European competitions.

Great thread saying "Potential 360?" suggesting that if Ian Beale wins the derby things will totally change on RTG. Takes a few posts before one of them points out that'd be a 180 rather than a 360 thick cunts.

Roy and Moyes were definitely the cream of that group labelled (unfairly or not) as PFMs, they've had more successes than failures in their careers. Without being able to quantify it they seem to me as fairly "old school" types but definitely receptive to the modern innovations of the game and willing to balance the two to good effect. Thankfully the ones who made a point of rubbishing innovations such as data, tactics, analysis etc seem to have almost entirely died out at the top level now. I remember Bruce when Sunderland manager circa 2010-11 once boasted in a press conference that he didn't know how to send an email, as if that was a positive thing that he didn't waste his time with such progressive nonsense. Souness with his "tactics are for schoolteachers" remarks was another one who darkened our door.

They hyped up Man City v Spurs literally 2 weeks ago and it was a fucking incredible 3-3 thriller

Klopp no doubt will blame that non pen shout should they not get their usual sickening late winner.