The Prophet

I don't think I've ever seen a team defend so horribly from set pieces.

Completly agree, I mean they're only challenging for the title. We're better all over the park, Butt and Duff are perfect examples of players Liverpool need to sustain a title challenge. The sooner people realise this the better, we're better than Liverpool and it's only down to luck that they're separated by twelve places in the league. Unbelievable!

Not really, he seems to get as much stick when we win as much as we lose, well in my neck of the woods anyway. There was always going to come a point when we didn't play well and we lost, people need to get used to this, the winning run was always going to come to an end. Kinnear has done a steady job but he isn't a miracle worker.

I love the sound of knee-jerking in the evening.

The sooner technology is brought in the better.

Never understood this hatred of Phil Brown.

Miroslav Klose is probably the closest thing you'll get to Owen in world football. We have more chance of biting our arses than signing him up though.

I'd prefer us to go out and get a link up man between midfield and attack, similar to the role Modric played today. What i call the "Eidur Gudjohnsen". What an underated player he is. Definitely. Think he was the key to Chelsea's success in the early Abramovich years. His ability not only to be able to score goals, but to be able to bring Robben and Duff into play to allow them to get on the score sheet was outstanding.

Aye, Blackburn, Leicester, Wolves and Northampton won my a bit of cash this weekend.

I think a lot of problems with caretakers is simply that they're not managers. Roeder like many caretakers is a coach, he lacks the charisma and character to be able to inspire players as well as being able to bring them back down to earth. You get similar problems with directors of football who play the role, they're unable to lead. Kinnear is different to Roeder because he is a manager and Roeder is a coach. The problem lies in the fact that Kinnear is an average manager.

Ah football is a funny old game, all you have to do is look at how the mood has changed from the late Stoke come back and it's nice. I'm enjoying feeling positive for a while. The thing is we're only two poor results away from a negative outlook. Anyhow ignore my rambling. The only thing that has become more clear to me over the last two games is that we aren't going to go down. Yes, relegation is still a threat and probably will be over the next couple of months, but these games have really reassured me with our quality we are always more than capable of grabbing three points. Kinnear has played apart in this reassurance. There's no doubt with Kinnear the team always on a knife edge, we're always capable of playing a blinder but at the same time minutes away from capitulation. But to deny Kinnear credit for the last two results is a bit out of order isn't it? The man is learning from his mistakes and as his knowledge about the squad grows the more likely it is the frequency of positive results will increase. No one is expecting him to take the league by storm, but to continue doing a tidy, steady-away job. Football is a game of two sides so to argue: "Oh is this chance had gone in and that chance had of missed" is a bit daft. You could look at every single fixture in football and find a moment where you could say: Oh well if x had happened y would of happened". You don't have to like Kinnear, but to deny him credit for a bit of good form is very harsh to say the least. Just enjoy it while it lasts.

Had way too many arguments about Spurs pre-season. I don't see how: Selling a pair who score 66 goals in a season. Replacing them with a couple of unknowns. Not dealing with exisiting problems of a weak midfield and injury prone defence. Turns you into a Champions League challanging side, fools.

Would love Porto to win it, think it will take something special to knock Barcelona out though.

Thompson: "Liverpool will have too much for them" Aye right oh it's going to be that easy. Deluded fool.

For shits and giggles we could do with: A referee A couple of managers A reporter

Would suggest booking 6pm-8pm if possible. Sunday 11th January 6pm Meet @ Coach Lane [pay Dr Venkman £5 as you pass through the gate onto the pitch] [warm up, team organising, waiting for late-comers, etc] 6.15pm KO First Half 7.00pm HT 7.05pm KO Second Half 7.50pm FT & Penalty Shoot-out 8pm + Head to Ship Inn/Benton Ale House (?) for post-match pints and banter [these are both next to Four Lane Ends metro & <10mins walk from Coach Lane Sports Facility] Have we managed to find a ref? More like arrive at five, blagging your way past Venkman. Wait for half an hour until everyone arrives. Kick off at six after everyone glams themselves up. Stop for an hour at half time and wait for the ambulance to cart cp40 off after his heart attack. Play a significantly extended second half after the ball is retreived after numerous skied penalties. Wait around for twenty minutes while Pilko and Stephen "find the soap". Go to the police station to give a witness statement after Nixon gets seven bells knocked out of him in the pub.

It just wouldn't be a transfer window without Diarra's annual move...

18th would be better like...

Aye, because what we need is an injury prone midget with an attiitude problem.

Head into the winter break second after a 1-1 draw with Schalke today.

Despite an emphatic 3-0 victory on the raod we fail to make it on to the "Last Word"...

Two small men can work, it depends on what system you play. No, we don't play an amazing system that perfectly suites both of them but they both have enough quality to score goals. As long as we continue to keep the ball on the deck they will cause teams problems.

More importantly what about the pre/post match piss up?

So, that is five good well earned points on the road now, three clean sheets and three decent performances. So why can't this form be repeated at home, is the pressure from the fans restricting the players? We have conceded three late goals this season against Man City, Wigan and Stoke, it's also worth noting we so very nearly fucked up against West Brom also at home. Imagine, your playing in the black and white five minutes into the second half of a game the team are leading 2-0. With the team talk ringing in their ears the opposition apply a bit of pressure, the home supposort begin to become a little restless. Five-ten minutes later the away side are still dominating, by now the fans are nearly silenced and all can be heard is the voice of the travelling supporters and the odd disgruntled home fan. Knowing they've silenced the home fans the opposition go on to score. All of a sudden the atmosphere changes, every mistake that is made is greeted with a negative reaction, all of a sudden you are aware that there are 52,000 eyes on you expecting you to make something happen, you don't want the ball so you drop back and hope you receive it as little as possible. Other players are beginning to do the same until the team are so deep they can barely get possession in the oppositions half. Eventually the defence cracks and the equaliser comes much to the dismay of you, your team and the home support. Now this is hypothetical but it is possible for this mentality to creep in whether it is unprofessional or not. So my question is, due to their expectations and reactions are the fans making the players feel pressurised and nervous and therefore contributing or even causing these late home reversals?

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