Lush Vlad

Watkins Started and ended the half well. Uninspiring stuff, otherwise.

Is that Lee Dixon on co-comms?! Oh for fu….

It is, really. But quite a few missing, no? Top of my head. Saka, Rice, Palmer, Kane, Stones, Foden, Shaw, (LOL) all out. Most of them would start in our strongest XI. When Palmer is fit, he has to play the 10, for me. Sounds mad to say it when he has had success there for England and in a slightly different role for Madrid. But I don't like Bellingham there. Always feels like he gets in the way.

Ever since the first vid came out. All I can think of is that Peep Show bit:

Of course, they're an Arsenal fan Probably done a 100 Tweet thread about how PGMOL fixed it so that they didn't win the league.

Is he getting slagged off? Or are people just rightly pointing out he hasn't been anywhere near as effective as last season or playing at the same levels? I thought he was great against Arsenal. Poor by his standards against Forest. Seems like he has a bit of a nagging injury and until recently, the team has been below par. So that would go some way to explaining it.

Not watched it since it was first released. Still hits as hard the second time. So well done.

It’s not the NFL franchise, FFS. I’m 100% club before country and I wasn’t even born in the North East and only have ties on one side of the family. I’d rather we won the League Cup than England won the World Cup. Internationals have become so diluted and there are too many meaningless, pointless games. I understand why players drop out if they’ve got niggly, nagging injuries and want to focus on playing football for the club that pay their wages and for the fans that support them every week. Maybe that last part only rings true for a small percentage of players

I reckon Gordon plays. But might even go Joelinton right and Barnes left. Joelinton played on the right for a good hour against Forest, didn't he? I'm sure they switched midway through the first half and he started the second half out there. You'd obviously lose the Joe combo. But you'd have a much better and more effective player on the pitch in Barnes.

Reading this and then clocking that pic FFS Saville on the rampage like some sort of Massive Noncezilla, destroying skyscrapers left and right whilst roaring "how's about that then".

Nah. My drawing ability is also similar to that of a 5 year old's. Leave poor Lewis alone

He played a lovely through ball to Isak away at Forest in the cup when Willock tapped home the rebound from Isak's shot. But unless you want to use MLS/Ice Hockey stats, he has not had an assist, no. Or fantasy football stats. Where he gets an assist for winning the penalty against Wimbledon.

Seem to get a fortune for them. Only for them to then perform nowhere near a level befitting of their price tag. I swear every year they sell someone for around £50-100m who then isn’t particularly good at their new club.

“Now Des Lynam, I do like.”

Yeah. I already glanced on the Sky Sports app and saw an article showing some 'big decisions' that Coote was involved with. Where they were not given in Liverpool's favour. Like it somehow proves he is guilty and anti-Liverpool. That's utter redtop bullshit from them, IMO. You could compile a list of any decisions you want from all of the refs over the last 3-4 years or so and use them in isolation to make out they were biased for or against a club based on said decisions.

Yes and no. I don’t think ex-players that were world class and/or won it all necessarily make good pundits. I think Keane is terrible for example and is just there to play a character, it seems. Grumpy Old Man Souness is the same. Take someone like Nedum Onuoha. He is a brilliant pundit IMO and should get more of a look in. He wasn’t really in that top level, elite bracket. I think a lot of the time. Ex-pros don’t make particularly good pundits, full stop. They never speak particularly well or offer anything insightful. You listen to some of the journos 5 Live get on, on something like Monday Night Club or Euro Leagues. The analysis and level of knowledge is night and day. Plus they’re usually much better orators, too. Never going to happen. As they need to keep jobs for the boys and it won’t be allowed due to ‘how many pro games have you played?!’ crowd. But analysis might be worth watching and listening to if they went for some more analytic, journo types.

2 weeks to wait FFS.

You did. If I was Australian

Sir Les Ferdinand is about as London as they come. Rob Lee, too. I’m a southerner and never got that stereotype at all. Always welcome up there. Even if @Scoot does take the piss out of my accent

Him coming back into the team has been just as or more important than Longstaff, IMO. I think we take for granted those driving runs that regularly get us 30-40 yards up the pitch. He makes it look effortless, just gliding about with ease. He just needs to stay fit now. Can see why Howe is being careful with him and taking him off after an hour.

It really goes to show what an amazing footballer he is. Because he really is so slow and he strikes the ball in an odd way. Like a push shot in pool and never really generates any power and looks like it is a load of effort for him to get it more than 20-30 yards. Yet he still gets about the pitch, he’s combative, he is brilliant on the ball under pressure and dictates games like not many in the league can.

I thought he was thr one negative today. Didn’t cause any problems right or left and was weak/wasteful with the chances that came his way. Barnes may not be as good as him. But based on this season. His numbers say otherwise and he has been more effective with the time he’s had on the pitch. I’m sure he will rediscover his form. But he has had more bad games than good so far.

Yeah. It wasn’t a genuine question. Far worse players for thuggery than him. Just seems like everyone is in agreement that he is crap and just a dirty, spoiler of a player. Proper hatchet man.

Yet Bruno is the most fouled player in the league and it’s not even close. So he clearly is convincing in the refs eyes. Longstaff isn’t in the refs eyes or the fans. Well, basically everyone bar you, apparently

Yes. I watch him regularly and think it’s not a foul. But he is convincing and he sells it even when it’s not and the refs give it. Do you honestly think they’re thinking who the player is when they blow the whistle?! Longstaff is the polar opposite. He goes down like a sack of spuds when it isn’t a free kick and it’s clearly a dive. Then when it is a blatant foul. He stays upright and he gets fuck all. Like I said. Fuck all to do with ‘names’ getting the decision and Longstaff not getting the rub of the green. He is just no good at gamesmanship.