Trumpet

Reading Monaco have kept 15 clean sheets in their last 19 official matches.

Conceded only 1 in 6 in group stage.

Massive bus-parking mission ahead this evening then. How can they be such a counter-attacking side with 38 year old Dimitar Berbatov leading the line ?? 

It really is. People who hate Europa League are the same people who are baffled by Euro expansion, or think teams like Senegal/Iran/Ecuador shouldn't be allowed at a World Cup because apparently they lower the quality 

They are capitalist corporate America's wet dream. Forgetting the absolute worst games of the last WC was played between the so called top sides. Argentina-Holland was so bad, if you didn't know the teams, you'd have thought it's Nicaragua vs. Fiji .

Apparently Europa League sucks because it involves Eastern European trips. Yep, who wants a trip to somewhere with utterly gorgeous women, cheap as fuck beer, immense history and architecture.....Nah fuck that. Cunts are blinded by capitalism agenda and their sky-high towers and 10 euros Starbucks lattes.

It's a fantastic and entertaining cup and its format is pretty good too. It's great that many countries and teams get a chance to succeed in it, but I wouldn't put it past those UEFA Cunts to bow down to pressure of cash-clubs and capitalist pigs and ruin this romantic affair. poor Legia Warsaw are STILL banned form having home fans (4th game now) for daring to criticize UEFA. They'd piss the tie vs. Ajax next week (Very unlucky to lose last night) if it weren't...such a shame. Always want the team who'll host the final to have a run. Makes things interesting

Found this really bizarre on Villa's official website:

'The club are excited to have secured the services of one of English football's most highly sought after managers.'

Emre Can is such a classy player man. Looked really good in midfield once moved in there. Can't believe he doesn't play in midfield ahead of both Henderson and Lucas.

To be fair, he is one of the main reasons the defense hadn't conceded a goal in open play for 8 matches until today. Can't see Rodgers disrupting a finally settled defense. Really sucks with Lucas (our 2nd best performer after Can in the good run) injury and the awful run of games coming up.

Was at work during the game. Saw the highlights, amazing how seamless Ibe's transition from being a bench player at Derby to starting wingback in two massive games has been. He's been very good in both games !

Hull and QPR with massive wins...hope this inspires Burnley to pull a shock tomorrow.

It's amazing that there is a very high chance of them staying up scoring 20 league goals all season (if it improves)

That Lambert 4 year extension on back of 3 good games this season....closest thing to Pardew's 2020 contract.

They still won't go down though, Villa seem to be going on massive losing/non-winning streaks in the past couple of seasons, yet always end up 15th/16th since there are always a few worse teams in the league.

Jonathan Walters scores a hattrick. Happy for him.

We're in February and QPR are yet to "PICK UP A SINGLE POINT" away from home. 

Looks like every team down there wants to get relegated.

Hull/Burnley/QPR/Leicester....surely it'll be a pick between the 4 of them ?

Shame for WBA that Betis re-hired Pepe Mel a couple of weeks ago.

Napoli beat Juve on pens to win Italian Super Cup.

Both teams fielded first team...Tevez and Higuain with the goals.

Some quality penalties and an outstanding save by Rafael to win it in the end.

Get in Rafa !

Really not sure how to feel about that Skrtel goal in the end. Sadly, it'll probably mask his absolutely ineptitude that led to 2 Arsenal goal today. Truly the Slovak Steven Taylor no matter how much twitter would want to portray him as the Slovak Sergio Ramos.

Massive goal still, mind you. Arsenal were fucking dreadful. easily the worst side to come to Anfield this season, can't believe the space and time they gifted to usI bet Fat Sam's WestHam will absolutely annihilate them in a week's time.

Been reading that last few pages. I mean, no matter how much of utter cunts Pardew and Bruce are, you can't just go all Lenin on them. Some excuses for HBA remind me of what Liverpool fans used to say about Babel. "Give him a less boring and more expressive manager and he'd be the next Henry". Some players just don't want to be very good. They don't stay the extra half hour or hours that Ronaldo stayed to practice his heading.. Some prefer to spend hours rapping, some rather shit themselves in hospital bed to get the hot nurse to touch them near the sensitive spots..I suspect HBA will end up in Turkish league sooner rather than later and probably team up with either Shola or Babel in that regard.

His current situation is like a patient with a history of being "difficult" , ditto a Seinfeld episode about Elaine. Many teams will be very reluctant to take a gamble on him. Once that tag is on your head, it's hard to get it off. We'll see if he can manage it or not.

GOALLLLLL !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The problem with dropping Gerrard is what other options do they have? The DM/CM options are not exactly inspiring.

 

The biggest issue is the need to replace him was and has been completely ignored.

That's an awful argument Jack.

Every other midfielder has at least got some sort of positional awareness about him. There is no need to build a team around a player whose contract expires in a few months and is 34 already. His deep position worked in second half of last season, when Suarez/Sturridge were making constant runs making themselves available for a long pass...One is in sunny Spain, and another is thanking Jesus all the time on Twitter. No point in having him there anymore. Not to mention, the man is coming up the biggest heart-break of his career that no doubt will haunt him for the rest of his life. He is mentally broken...He knows his chance is gone. It's unfortunate, but time to move on and build around players who will be here for longer time.

And aye, Rodgers' quotes about Spurs "when you spend 100M, you have to be challenging for the title" and Southampton "I have no pity for them, maybe their aspirations aren't ambitious enough" is making him look a right tit at the moment.

I usually have a lot of sympathy with Liverpool managers (Still absolutely love and follow Rafa to this day), but Rodgers IS digging his own grave now, and he can't blame anyone else. Not at all. It's all his-doing. and he can still FIX this mess, but he's running out of time.

Grow a pair and make some big fucking calls. That's what separates the top tier from the also-rans.

Let's be honest, he's been finished for a while now in terms of being an important player in a "top 4" side. They're living in the past (no surprises there...) by refusing to drop him. Pure sentiment keeping him there.

 

He's saved by the odd game he bothers to give a s*** and is given carte blanche protection from the media. More often than not it's a boost for the opposition when they see his name in the line-up.

 

England would have gone to the next round in the World Cup if special captain fantabulous Gerard hadn't stunk up the place. He also has no personality whatsoever to go along with his rapidly declining footballing importance. Massive dig from Carragher saying there were "no men" out on the pitch yesterday.

I know it's fashionable and good time to say stuff like that, but let's not re-write history. England were utterly awful in every single sense and position at the WC and got exactly what they deserved. They would have gone out even without that Gerrard assist to Suarez.

Some nice stats from the league table since Sturridge been injured ( 9 games now)

- Only Burnley, Leicester, and Villa have scored less than LFC

- Only Hull, QPR, and Villa have gotten less points than LFC

- Only Burnley, Villa, QPR, and Sunderland (8 in one game) have conceded more goals than LFC

- Only QPR and Villa have LOST more games than LFC

- No team has had less clean sheets than LFC

** This could potentially be worse if Villa win tonight. With Sturridge out til 2015 and 8 league games between them, relegation zone beckons by Christmas, unless Rodgers wakes up and drops his favourites and changes his approach.

GC, beyond being labelled as you "doing a Spurs", do you think the likes of Markovic and Can will succeed in your team?

 

Also please for your own sake drop Johnson. An embarrassment of a defender.

I wish we were doing a Spurs. Spurs finished 3 points less than they did the season with Bale. We are doing far worse than "doing a Spurs". Poor Spurs get a bad reputation, but 69 points was actually a respectable tally.

I don't know about Markovic and haven't seen enough of him to make any judgment, but I like Can and the Spanish fullbacks. That's all. Lallana is a handy player too, though over-priced.

Lovren though man....I don't think I've ever actively hated a Liverpool player so much. It's approaching El-Hadj Diouf stage. The cunt wouldn't shut up about his wish to captain the side...He's pound for pound the worst signing I've seen us make. A LOT worse than Carroll. And i'm deadly serious.

Wish Rodgers had Rafa's balls to admit his mistake and get rid of this clown in January (like Rafa did with Keane). Worst thing is the snide instagram photos and comments of his wife everyone he doesn't play (either for Liverpool or Croatia). They are still laughing at him in Lyon.

Speaking of Johnson, watch his commitment to the cause (With some weekly Lovren comedy added) here. On that second goal

(Are Vines allowed here) ??

The sooner they drop Gerrard, the better.

 

The better for them, anyway.

 

Keep him in, please.

It's effectively like playing with 10 men. Yesterday, AWAY AT PALACE...at a position demanding to protect the defense. He made zero tackles or interception. ZERO. And yet he stays on, while the brightest midfielder in the team, Allen, gets taken off.

Genuinely think he has nudes of Rodgers, or Rodgers is afraid his rent will go up if he touches him. I know pressure usually gets to people's head, but surely he can see something everyone and their dog can see as well? Warnock/Pardew/Allardyce/etc have all beaten him by targeting Gerrard. It's so easy these days.

^ Wenger will stay and pull of a top 4 finish just like he always does. It's such a predictable thing

Also...I know everyone here (probably understandably) hates Suarez...but what a fucking guy he is. Forget him as a footballer, he was the true captain of the team. Leading by example with full 100% effort and demanding every one of his team mates to do the same. His loss is a lot bigger than just on the pitch....Starting to come in terms with it and realize it. One of the most special players that football has ever seen. combination of Commitment of Saylor/Roy Keane + Skill set of Messi-lite.

Should be 3-0.

 

He's hanging himself. 2 weeks of international break to get back to the basics, drop under-performing players, change the game plan that is clearly not working...and then the same s*** is served up.

 

Lovren continues to make Steven Taylor look as good as prime Nesta, Skrtel is being shown up now that he isn't scoring goals, Johnson is perhaps the worst fullback in the league, and less said about Gerrard the better. Mentally f***ed after last season and his "quarter back" role is useless with static strikers like Lambert or Balotelli. It's ridiculous that the manager of the team has his captain as the landlord and lives at his place. It defies belief.

 

And now he's entered the "blaming young players" route, while the worst players are actually the senior ones. Afraid for him, but I don't think he has a lot of games to save himself and he himself isn't helping the situation.

 

He's gone full Pardew.  (To be fair to him, he did accept blame for the loss unlike Alan).

 

Do you honestly think his job is under threat? I'm surprised to hear that.

He has a lot of credit in his bank after last season, but he's is using it all way too quickly.

This is how I see it mate. He came in with a 180 dossier plan of death by football and tiki-taka. It wasn't working nicely in his first 6 months, but at least there was some pattern of play and you could see what he's working towards. January comes and Sturridge/Coutinho arrive, he moves away from his original plan and results improve.

Second season, both Suarez and Sturridge start on fire and make it impossible to drop either (In latter half of his first season, in some games Sturridge was benched), hence making his 4-3-3 redundant, and we switch to varieties of diamond. Playing on the counter, with quick transitions. The exact opposite of his "philosophy"...and go a slip away from the title.

Then Suarez leaves and he is in a very strong position with a lot of cash, and decides to go back to his original plan of death by football. And despite its ineffectiveness being clearly on the show 2 years ago, he's refusing to accept it and alter it now. Those useless 2 yard passes Lovren and Skrtel play to each other is so reminiscent of "We won the passing" jokes from 2 years ago.

It's a result based business and he needs it to improve thick and fast. Owners didn't hesitate to sack Dalglish after nearly winning a domestic cup double due to league form being shit. This is Brendan's 3rd season in charge and after ra huge spending spree, a loss in Sofia on Wednesday will make it the first time the club has lot 5 in a row since 1953. I know journos and papers have come out today saying his job is totally safe, but I don't buy it. Even if you read the official website forums or RAWK, the tones are different now compared to 3 weeks ago when we lost to you guys.

Match-going away fans didn't even bother singing YNWA yesterday and from someone who was there at pubs nearby Selhurst Park, there is a lot of doubt creeping in among local fan base and it's always a poisoned chalice when it happens.

We've gotten 8 points from 9 games since Sturridge got injured, scored 9 goals in that time (3rd lowest in the league), and it's proper relegation stuff. There are 2 must win CL games and 3 games against lower half PL opposition in the next 2 weeks prior to a double header with Man Utd and Arsenal with COC quarter final sandwiched between them. He needs some big wins before that. He really does. I hope he pulls his head out of the sand and stops with playing his favourites.

It's absurd like. When he first came, he was fearless. He started Suso/Sterling who were both 17 at Goodison derby, he was making changes after half hour if things weren't changing. Last season, he was changing and chopping formation during the game to adopt...flexibility and fearlessness was his thing. I don't know what's happened in summer, but now he's completely stubborn. Doesn't play players on merit, and look stuck and clueless

Going by some stuff Carragher was saying on Sky last night (And I'm sure he has very close contact within the club) and him battering the lack of leadership in the team (When his best mate is the captain), I think there is something wrong behind the scenes. Time will tell of course.

This fretful is like seducing Keira Knightley to your bed, and then just before making love to her, you kick her out and end up with Rebell Willson instead.

Should be 3-0.

He's hanging himself. 2 weeks of international break to get back to the basics, drop under-performing players, change the game plan that is clearly not working...and then the same shit is served up.

Lovren continues to make Steven Taylor look as good as prime Nesta, Skrtel is being shown up now that he isn't scoring goals, Johnson is perhaps the worst fullback in the league, and less said about Gerrard the better. Mentally fucked after last season and his "quarter back" role is useless with static strikers like Lambert or Balotelli. It's ridiculous that the manager of the team has his captain as the landlord and lives at his place. It defies belief.

And now he's entered the "blaming young players" route, while the worst players are actually the senior ones. Afraid for him, but I don't think he has a lot of games to save himself and he himself isn't helping the situation.

He's gone full Pardew.  (To be fair to him, he did accept blame for the loss unlike Alan).

Ranieri should just immediately retire now.

To lost to Faroe Islands, AT HOME....and have lost all 3 of his home games so far, without scoring a single goal.

Shocking. I always thought he was an unlucky manager who was let down in the last minute (a bit of a bottler), but this is just pure incompetence.

Pardew would have gotten more of this Greece side.

Congrats on a deserved win. Thought both games were awful, but we managed to be worse than you. Same old issues but Rodgers seem to be ignoring Einsteins quote about insanity. Both teams will struggle to finish in the top 10 though. Really poor game of football and regret walking 20 minutes in cold snow to make it to the pub early morning to watch it.