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Had our 12 week scan earlier this morning for our first child and the eventual heir to all my drums. We've been trying for years and thanks to the NHS it looks to be happening now, Greatest thing I've seen on a TV since The Wire, the little legend actually had its hands in the air and it's legs crossed to begin when we first saw it. Obviously has some good music on in there. Even saw it stretch. Wasn't expecting to see it move (being our first I wasn't sure what to expect beforehand) The greatest thing. Feel like I could run two marathons right now (obviously couldn't though)

Top trolling by Tranmere let the fume commence

Hoping to avoid Kariobangi Sharks in the next round if we get through tonight

George Harrison’s Dad is Phillipe Couthino

Fuck them. They can suck it up, the utter bastards. I had to sit with their fans in the East Stand for 90 minutes and hear terrible things, terrible things about the club and city I love. I had lifelong mates cheering on Man City and Spurs during the run-in. Fuck them hard, they need to suffer. I hope they get relegated and never come back. Not that I took it personally or hold a grudge. Nothing like that, you lot all know that I'm a reasonable guy from the last 14 years I've been on this forum.

Divock 5-0

How mental is that... Just has my brother pop round for a few beers and inform me Joy is pregnant again. 4 years of trying and 3 miscarriages. We had had a beer for you too JNP.

Well played Tranmere

Thanks Mook, I'll only have two rules for him/her: Must play the drums and must support a 'certain' sporting team. Thanks Remmie, been quite easy to keep a secret up to this point as we only revealed it to close friends/family those months ago but it's just been tough not just letting it slip when talking about why we are doing work on the house/garden/looking to move....etc. Going back in for Anakin if it's a boy as I got ruthlessly blocked by the other half that name when naming the dogs last year. We do already have a shortlist and that's been great fun. Now we've reached the 12 week milestone we'll probably be more open in person to people now though. Yeah, the band are based 80 odd miles away so music is taking a backseat, just not feasible really as I'm needed here now getting things in order/helping out and being there for the other half. Plus we've waiting so long for this I don't want to miss anything during the pregnancy. The band have been great through and are throwing me a big farewell/birthday gig next month, which is nice of them. Hence the post where I couldn't really say much without giving it away. Going to get absolutely wasted. And it’s its first gig tonight as we’re off to watch KISS. Fantastic, Glad to hear all is going well for you all then mate! Great to hear your lad is also doing well now also. Long may it all continue for you all.

Injuries are increasingly not my concern - it's fatigue. The lads turned up for pre-season on Saturday. Salah's season finished that day, Firmino's the day after and Mané's is still going. They are not going to be remotely ready for the start of the season - a season where we need to hit the ground running more than we ever have done before, because the margin for error has never been so low. We cannot afford to blunder around bringing those three off the bench late into games because we're struggling. We have one of our best starting elevens in history, one of our greatest managers of all time and yet I feel we could do so much better with even one more forward.

A proper Tiramisu.

Salma Hayek in Desperado.

Nothing better than being a Dad my lad is 25 now and has turned out great it's a very proud feeling enjoy every minute of it .

Cause we’ve had such a build up to it it’s been hard to not constantly do cartwheels every few minutes as we’ve wanted it so long, but I guess the joy is the same as any other couple. Dont really have anything to compare it to being our first so everything for her and me is just going with the flow really but I guess that’s the same for everyone. Long way to go but so far so good. Could literally first pump for the rest of the day.

Don't know how to do NSFW tags anymore

I've been aggressively monitoring Salma Hayek since she appeared in Desperado in 1995. About the same time Everton stopped aggressively monitoring trophies.

Jurgen jurgen what's the score ?? Jurgen what's the score . ......???

I find that unpalletable

Curtis Jones 4-0

Brewster 2-0 Brewster 3-0

http://www.hesgoal.com/news/49574/Tranmere_Rovers_vs_Liverpool.html

Good. That’s what I wanted to know. Because I am worried about the effects of illegal streaming services. Not because I have access to any.

I'd love a piece of me Mums homemade Apple pie it was outstanding but that's not gonna happen now so I'll go for profiteroles with cream

Sexy.

The pricktease washing the car in Cool Hand Luke.

Audrey (Sherilyn Fenn) and the cherry stem from Twin Peaks.

Pretty good overall. Every know and again like Xmas I just load up on insulin and eat what I want.

Bobby Peru don't come up for air.

Corbyn seems unique in the sense that he seems to he held responsible for the actions and words of anyone who the media feels it can brand 'a Corbyn supporter'. How come Klopp isn't being doorstepped because that bloke pushed someone in a fountain? Is he not part of Klopp's vile fountain troll army? There's nuggets of real shit in all this but it's all, as ever, being distorted for the ends of various people. Saying that, this is a country where it's seemingly not a big deal to have serving soldiers taking pot shots at his picture. Or where the 'aggressive left' spent years being infiltrated by MI5 and clouted by coppers. Expect no fairness here.

I find them too heavy. Same goes for Sainsbury’s and Tesco. Morrisons are decent for the money, though.

Pound for pound, Sainsbury’s are the best for doughnuts. 79p for five freshly made, either ring, jam, custard or chocolate. Krispy Kreme ones are lovely but fucking expensive.

I don't know why commentators keep having this debate about "if Smith bats at 3, where do you put Khawaja?" Simple. Out of the team. Anyone would think he was Bill fucking Ponsford.

It’s not even mid-July and I’m sick of Steve Smith’s stupid bloody face already.

He's Great.

Villa just spent £26.5m on Tyrone Mings so we should be asking for about £80m for Wilson on that scale.

Oh yes, but that's because they were sorry. Reformed. You know, rehabilitated.

Usher making more money than we thought....

Apparently the Mancs are after Malinkovivcivivic-Savic for over £70m. I didn’t realise he was British.

There is no way we'll ever receive that money.

We were better on the Saturday.

Well, I was half-right about him, as it turned out he was actually trying to sell papers.

If there is a silver lining, it's that the EU is getting more efficient, what with fixing elections across Europe, and all. Three years ago they couldn't even handle a simple referendum.

The saga of Worldchoice Sports and their cancelled flights is well documented on here but my small claim in the County Court has only just been settled. Having had my flight cancelled on the Thursday afternoon before the game I had to fly to Warsaw (from Luton) and take a 20 hour coach trip to Kiev, watch the game, crash and repeat in the opposite direction. I asked them to refund the car park fee I had paid to leave my car at John Lennon; I didn't think my request was unreasonable in the circumstances. They refused but the Court has found in my favour costing them another £50 in Court fees (plus whatever their Solicitor charged them to defend the case).

Ashes to gashes

https://www.standard.co.uk/sport/football/liverpool/liverpool-fc-under-fsg-how-learning-from-fulham-and-man-utd-off-the-pitch-helped-bring-glory-back-to-a4167081.html Liverpool under FSG: How learning from Fulham and Man Utd off the pitch helped bring glory back to Anfield As the city of Madrid turned into a speck on the horizon for the passengers of a flight chartered to bring the newly crowned champions of Europe back to Liverpool, John W Henry had plenty of time to consider everything that had led him to that moment. In the aftermath of such momentous successes, the details of the journey to the summit tend to take on greater significance. Had supporters been tasked with identifying the key moments, then perhaps Jurgen Klopp’s appointment, Alisson Becker’s save against Napoli, or Divock Origi’s heroics against Barcelona would have been those that sprung to mind on their trip home. For Henry though, it likely led him back to the very start. To Fulham. But this is not the story of how a previously undisclosed Roy Hodgsonlegacy helped bring in silverware eight years after his departure, nor of Reds captain Jordan Henderson’s refusal to move to Craven Cottage in 2012. Liverpool victory bus greets thousands of fans in city centre Rather, it is a retracing of the steps that brought Fenway Sports Group to Anfield, and then on to the pinnacle of a sport they once knew very little about. The beginning In early 2010, Fulham were in the midst of what could be considered the greatest era of the club’s 140-year history. With Hodgson at the helm, he had produced Fulham’s highest ever top-flight finish of seventh and secured European qualification. That lead to the unimaginable run to the Europa League Final with wins over the likes of Juventus, Hamburg and Shakhtar Donetsk was currently in progress. In the boardroom, a desire to capitalise on these heady days existed, and the imminent expiry of a three-year shirt sponsorship agreement with South Korean electronics company LG represented an opportunity to do so. With the Premier League’s commercial pacesetters Manchester United having partnered with AIG and then AON for their last two shirt deals, it seemed only logical for Fulham to try and exploit the US market. There was just one hitch: a lack of connections in the American offices of multinational companies. Enter Steve Gans, a Boston-based lawyer whose counsel had previously been sought by a number English clubs, as well as the league’s executive chairman Richard Scudamore. Gans’ extensive list of contacts had recently been bolstered by the addition of Fenway Sports Management, the marketing arm of FSG, who were keen to expand their portfolio into the world’s most popular sport after successes in baseball and NASCAR. FSG owned MLB side, the Boston Red Sox Photo: Adam Glanzman/Getty Images And so, after brief negotiations, a mutually beneficial agreement that saw FSM tasked with finding Fulham’s next shirt sponsor was reached. Unfortunately, what appeared to be a match made in heaven did not quite live up to expectations. The club’s owners rejected a number of potential bids presented by FSM in the belief that better value existed elsewhere. But that decision appeared misplaced as the effects of the global financial crisis began to squeeze. It was confirmed as such when the Cottagers eventually signed a deal with FXPro believed to be worth less than those offered up by FSM. But Fulham’s loss simply proved to be Liverpool’s gain. Liverpool fans demonstrate outside the High Court in 2010 as RBS seek high court order to prevent the American co-owners, Tom Hicks and George GillettJr, from removing the chairman Martin Broughtonand another board member Photo: Oli Scarff/Getty Images Just a few months later, that brief flirtation with football was enough to convince FSG that they should act when Tom Hicks and George Gillett’s Anfield reign completely unravelled - and so they did. Teething problems Nobody said it would be easy; the £237million worth of bank loans that needed to be wiped out upon buying the club certainly offered a big clue. But it was the publication of the first set of accounts since FSG’s takeover - delivered in May 2011 - that truly underlined the size of the task at hand. Losses of £19.9m from the previous financial year were certainly cause for concern, though it was a turnover of just £184.9m that truly set alarm bells ringing. That is because this figure placed Liverpool behind Manchester United, Arsenal and Chelsea in the Deloitte Money League, with the additional complication of Manchester City having recently gained unrivalled spending power. As such, the quandary facing the Reds and their new owners was clear: they somehow needed to get back into the top four with the fifth-most money. FSG’s approach to solving this issue was laid out in one particularly instructive section of that first set of accounts. It read: The three key elements of the company’s strategy are to.. Improve football performance through a positive playing style, excellent football infrastructure, and investment in young, talented players. Improve the fan experience and interaction with the club, and Leverage the club’s global following to increase revenue growth Eight years on, the sporting element of this mission statement can certainly be considered fulfilled after a young and talented squad claimed the biggest prize in European football off the back of a world-class football infrastructure and brand of positive football. But it should not be understated just how much this success owes to points two and three having also been ticked off since FSG arrived. A commercial revolution As the Premier League era dawned in 1992, it seemed that no club was better placed than Liverpool to exploit the new riches flooding into English football courtesy of Sky Sports. The Reds had relinquished their customary grip on the league title in the two seasons prior, but their status as the country’s dominant force had yet to dwindle. However, a complete failure to capitalise on that position commercially characterised the years that followed - an error compounded by Man Utd’s forward-thinking hierarchy taking the complete opposite approach. And so, when FSG gained control at Anfield, they inherited a fallen giant that had punched well below its weight for almost two decades. The first step towards correcting that failure saw Henry and his team lean on their experience with Fulham, appointing the west London club’s head of commercial operations, Olly Dale, to the role of senior vice president at FSM. By 2014, Dale had taken up the role of commercial director at Liverpool and with it a responsibility - alongside chief commercial officer Billy Hogan and their staff - for helping the club finally realise its financial potential. The list of 30 partners now featured on the Reds’ official website shows just how that gap has been bridged in the intervening period, as do commercial revenues of £154.3m according to the latest accounts - up from just £62.1m in 2011. Along with Champions League qualification, it is growth such as this, separated completely from league-wide television money inflation, that has been vital to Liverpool’s improved financial health. And, with the latest turnover figures of £455.1m now placing the club behind only United and Man City in the Premier League, the conundrum of getting into the top four with weaker financial muscle no longer exists. Of course, significant investment has been required to create this world-class operation, a fact reflected by the club’s full-time staff roster having increased from 477 to 837 during FSG’s tenure. That said, much of the work leading to this influx of partnerships would be of little consequence without an engaged audience to harness. Just four days after their takeover was ratified, and 24 hours after a dispiriting 2-0 defeat at Everton, Henry and Tom Werner sat down with the people who had done so much to dislodge their predecessors. In the Joe Fagan meeting room of Liverpool’s city centre offices on Chapel Street, the two Americans met with members of the influential supporters union Spirit of Shankly to lay out their bold vision for a club that a week before had been on the brink of bankruptcy. Those present left the building impressed with what they heard, but a promising start soon descended into frostiness as offers of further collaboration were ignored. The relationship between owners and fans would go to reach its nadir in February 2016, when plans to introduce a £77 ticket to the club’s general admission offering prompted a mass walkout at Anfield in the latter stages of a Premier League meeting with Sunderland. But that PR nightmare only prompted an eagerness to learn from mistakes that has been a hallmark of FSG’s time in charge - and they have not looked back since. The brave appointment of Tony Barrett, a former Times journalist and vocal critic of past missteps, to the role of head of club and supporter liaison is just one element of the recent transformation in terms of fan engagement. The decision to embrace ‘Boss Night’, the remarkably popular Jamie Webster-led singalongs that have soundtracked the last two European campaigns, is another. Now, FSG provide the tools to hone an already impressive fan culture, and in return they receive further demonstrations of Liverpool’s biggest selling point - its truly unique fanbase. The benefits to this healthy relationship could not be clearer for both parties. Liverpool fans go wild on the streets of Madrid after Champions League victory Evidence of this virtuous cycle in action could be seen in the glorious images of the Reds’ end of the Estadio Metropolitano two weeks ago, as fan group Spion Kop 1906 brought a piece of Anfield to Madrid. That would not have been possible without the support of key figures at the club, who not only ensured those iconic Kop-end flags could be taken into the ground without trouble, but also helped transport them to and from Madrid. And the sincerity that underpins such gestures was exemplified by the sight of the club’s fan experience manager, Yonit Sharabi, helping supporters take down those flags in the immediate aftermath of a sixth European Cup success. The disharmony of the Hicks and Gillett era is truly a thing of the past. Of course, FSG have no intention of stopping here. As manager Jurgen Klopp promised in Madrid: “This is only the start.” The on-pitch priority remains obvious heading into a 30th year without a league title, but there is plenty to think about off it also. Talk of expanding the Anfield Road end of the club’s home ground has resurfaced, with initial plans for a 4,000-seat increase now likely to be shelved in favour of taking the stadium’s capacity beyond 60,000. Meanwhile, the upcoming expiry of the Reds’ kit deal with New Balance will offer a fresh insight into just how much progress has been made since Adidas cited an absence of value as their reason for not renewing in 2012. Club chiefs are looking to secure a £75m-per-season agreement that would put them on a par with United. But negotiations are sure to be more straightforward than seven years ago with a sixth European Cup having recently been added to the trophy cabinet. This is the stratosphere Liverpool occupy in 2019; for FSG, those initial forays with Fulham must feel like a long time ago.