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Can't agree with this Chris. I'm not going over the kangaroo court stuff again nor entering into a racism argument again but I do think it's culturally imperialistic for English speakers to set down rules for what or what isn't acceptable in other cultures and languages. Context is everything and surprisingly enough other cultures have different contexts. Suarez is a bit of a twat though. Not as big a twat as Evra mind. Other than than that I enjoyed the article and I agree it's time to bury hatchets and treat him with the respect shown to our other greats. He made his decisions and most of them were wrong but he's paid for that. I just wish he'd stop referring to the Mancs as "we". Football is tribal and while it is possible to have respect for other tribes you can only belong in one.

Hugo Boss did my grandads works clothes, are they still about?

As an American who works in the administration of elections, I prefer Ireland's voting system over pretty much everyone's. Ranked choice voting gives every vote a chance to impact an election, which is in no way true of FPTP, or the crap we're saddled with in the USA.

Pace tries don't count.

From day 1 he was England's Michael Owen, not Liverpool's, and that just sewed the seeds of dislike. Joining that shower in Salford was just the final nail. I'll forever be grateful for the 2 goals against the Arse in Cardiff, but otherwise he can do one!

Sorry, can't get past the footage of him cavorting around in front of the Stretford End with the Premier League trophy. The only reason - I mean that literally - Ferguson took him on was as a vanity project. I can make this Liverpool legend a title winner here! I don't hate the guy and I still have fond memories of his time at the club. But I can't memory-hole that image, nor should I have to.

The thing I’ve enjoyed most about Jamie Carragher’s podcast is the incredible forthrightness of the interviews. The shared context, friendship and experiences with his guests provides an incredible platform for honest conversations – far exceeding the cookie cutter Q&As we hear in the vast majority of interviews conducted by actual journalists. Carra’s standing, and aversion to sugar-coating anything, enables him to frame questions in a way that would be downright insulting coming from a reporter. It’s what made the recent episode with Michael Owen such a startlingly brutal and uncomfortable listen. If you came out of that interview still unwilling to bury the hatchet with Michael Owen and finally welcome him home, then I’d advise you to contact someone with a stethoscope. Michael’s story, as told on The Greatest Game, sounded like the clichéd sports movie, charting the incredible highs, then the depths of despair. It was set-up for the final act – the inevitable, uplifting redemption, but in Owen’s case, there is no feel-good ending. If the Robbie Fowler story could draw comparisons to Rocky, Owen’s could be likened to the end of Raging Bull. Put it this way: Michael Owen, who scored 158 goals for his club and thrice tried to get back home after his initial departure, now feels intimidated when he walks into Anfield. “Any Liverpool fan has the power to break my heart,” he said. Jesus, I don’t know about any of you, but hearing that just about broke mine. It’s not right. Owen brought as much joy to the old stadium as any individual in the last quarter century; that much is indisputable. Yet, as Carragher brutally pointed out, Owen gets no love, his career and contributions are glossed over. Or, to use Carragher’s word “dismissed”. I’ll be honest with you. Michael was my guy. At the time I’d have argued “Michael over Robbie” with anyone. My best mate and I still joke about it to this day (how lucky were we to have those two to playfully argue over by the way?). I’d never really resented him for leaving, but it did break my heart. I never hated him for signing for Newcastle because I was privy to information he desperately wanted to come home and was distraught to be going there. I wasn’t among those screaming “where were you in Istanbul?” in his face, because what was the point? It wasn’t even as if I felt signing for United was unforgivable given his predicament. For me, a fissure tore into a gaping crevasse the day he scored the winner in that Manchester derby (as unreal a finish as it was). I hadn’t seen him celebrate quite so exuberantly in a decade. I hadn’t seen that joy since he was a teenager and, as he raced behind the Stretford End goal, hadn’t seen him run that fast either. How could he be that happy doing that, there, for them? At the time when we were in the utter depths of the Gillet and Hicks era, with Rafa’s tenure coming to an end, it was an absolute sickener. For many, it confirmed what they had felt all along. It was the first time I believed it too – that Michael Owen cared only about Michael Owen. It didn’t matter which shirt he was wearing. On that day he was happy for himself, not for Man United. And now, in the context of his interview with Carragher, it’s a little bit easier to see why. Many will still feel like Owen got what was coming, that he made his own bed and thus doesn’t deserve to be mentioned in the same breath as other Liverpool greats. That’s fine. But there’s also a staggering hypocrisy here that’s bothered me for decades. It seems you can be terrible, as a man and a footballer, but as long as you’re pushed out of the door, rather than leave on your own terms, you’re welcomed back to Liverpool with open arms. The ovations afforded to a returning David James down the years, for example. Here’s someone that made an absolute mockery of us, his manager and the entire club, quantifiably costing us a title during his time on his PlayStation, or modelling, or whatever else he was doing while flailing around between the sticks. James and Owen both broke my heart. Michael for leaving us when he did, James for being abjectly terrible at his job and causing us to lose football matches. One of the two feels intimidated walking into Anfield for fear of abuse, the other would probably get a standing ovation if he turned out for one of those Liverpool Legends games. More recently, the reverse is somehow true. It seems a player can force his way out in the most egregious manner and still be remembered fondly. His recent roasting at Anfield aside, the esteem in which Luis Suarez is held absolutely staggers me. Carra mentioned this too. Some of my best mates have him in all-time Liverpool five-a-side teams. I can’t scream this loud enough, but to Hell with Luis Suarez. This bloke went on strike to force a move to Arsenal (to Arsenal), bit opponents and racially abused others. Our reputation is yet to fully recover from our association with that ‘loveable little scamp,’ as evidenced by the recent, long overdue apology to Evra and the coverage it received. I feel ashamed for supporting him at the time. Between Owen and Suarez, which is the club annually falling over itself to wish a happy birthday? Here’s a clue: It’s not the one who ran himself into utter physical degradation before his mid-20s, while wearing the red shirt. Nor is it the one who won a Ballon D’Or in the same year he helped us to a cup treble. Owen’s contribution to the modern history of Liverpool far eclipses Suarez’s season or so of giving a damn. Even Stan Collymore enjoys a higher standing than Michael Owen among some Liverpool fans on social media. Seriously. Even the aversion to Fernando Torres has faded these days. Everyone seems alright with him again with the club often commemorating his contribution more and more often. I promised myself I’d never love another footballer again after he went to Chelsea; then Klopp’s lads came along and now I’m besotted with the lot of them, but that’s beside the point. Speaking of Chelsea, remember when Steven Gerrard tried to force a move there? If Gerrard’s explanation for how that situation came to pass (Papa Rafa didn’t show him enough love, etc.) is understood then why can’t Michael’s reasons for heading to Real Madrid, when all along his plan was to just “do a Rushie” and come back after a year? The answer’s rhetorical, if we’re honest with ourselves. After developing an Alan Shearer-like reputation for bland, guarded interviews during his playing career, Michael has been an open book since his retirement. Especially regarding his injuries and his self-professed rapid decline. We’ve had a window into Owen the person. Maybe that’s what has me warming to him again? The fact that, away from his horses, his millions and his media career, he’s a guy with insecurities, with regrets, with fears and apprehension. It’s a great leveller. I don’t know how the current impasse changes. Maybe it starts with the club affording him the same respect it does to other, less deserving folks, through its constant content output? If they can get off Suarez’s lap for five minutes that is. For all their talk about the “LFC family” they aren’t half choosy about who is treated as such. People shouldn’t need reminding just how good Michael Owen was, but if that’s what needs to happen, it should. There’s no reason for this continued antipathy or, perhaps even worse, utter apathy. That might be the hardest thing about this for Owen. Right now, he doesn’t matter. He’s not loved, nor particularly hated. Just irrelevant. Some will say that’s his punishment. After listening to his side of the story, I’d counter by saying, “for what exactly?” Carragher brutally pointed out that, while he finished his career with a guard of honour and a Kop mosaic, Michael went out coming off the bench for Tony Pulis’ Stoke. Wasn’t that punishment enough? Enough is enough. It’s time to recognise Michael Owen’s contribution for what it was. On the stat sheets, to the numbers on that increasingly-active “Wall of Champions” and in our mind’s eye. “One-nil down, two-one up, Michael Owen won the cup.” Remember that? Like many others, the story isn’t straight forward. There are complications. But Michael Owen is unquestionably a Liverpool great and deserves to be spoken of as such. It’s time to end the story in the right way. Chris Smith @ByChrisSmith View full article

I've forgiven him and glad to welcome him back. I was there in Cardiff to see him win the Cup for us on a day when we were battered by a superior side until he volleyed an equaliser from nowhere and then set off on that long sprint towards our end, making a complete arse of the invincible Arsenal defence before finding the net from an impossible angle to spark off jubilant mayhem all around me. I was pissed off when he left for Madrid so late in the window but I also recall standing on the Kop cheering when news came in that he had scored for Real, there was still goodwill then. It was clear as day that he wanted to come back but we were badly run back then and I blame Parry as much as anyone for somehow not clinching the deal. Signing for United was another nail in the coffin of his LFC support but since he retired he has been nothing but respectful towards our club and has now opened up on his feelings, so I applaud him for that. Any ex-player (especially if they have left great memories for us on the pitch) who goes on to support the club after he has finished his playing career is welcome so far as I'm concerned. Life's too short and bitterness is for others, he made mistakes but owns them so I'm with Carra and Chris Smith.

The Mermaid Inn, Ipswich. 8.5/10. £7.95 for full English (as shown) and unlimited visits to the continental menu. As much tea, toast, fruit juice, cereal and croissants (butter and chocolate variety) as you can stuff your little face with. As I decided to review it for TLW I took one for the team and left the beans on. Fortunately, although not penned in a ramekin the sauce was thick enough, and minimal enough, to keep the Coronavirus of the breakfast plate in their place. Black pudding was thin, but very well cooked (soft not crispy) and not fried to a crisp as I first feared. Everything else well cooked and no fat or mushroom juice on the plate. I was impressed. No doubt you won’t be.

We're great and about to win the league. I've got no room in my heart to hate Michael Owen.

The positives piled up during his time here far outweigh the negatives during and since his departure.

Not by me I'm afraid. He still refers to Man U as "we". I still refer to him as "treacherous blood-sucking cripple".

I won't believe any of this until the architect gets a Liverbird tattoo

This is a decent little article I thought. https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2020/feb/10/british-political-pundits-ireland-election-sinn-fein Memo to British political pundits: Ireland’s election isn’t about you Peter Geoghegan After Sinn Féin’s unexpected success commentators rushed in with half-baked conclusions about what it all meant There has been no shortage of surprises in Ireland’s election results. A party historically linked to the Provisional IRA won the popular vote. A political duopoly rooted in a civil war a century earlier has, finally, ended. And nobody knows what the next government will look like. Given all this real drama, it was more than a bit curious to see the reaction from sections of the British media. After more than three years covering Brexit as if it were a football match, more than a few British pundits seemed determined to shoehorn Ireland’s shifting politics into a black/white view of the world with Britain at its centre. At times, it felt as if London journalists were commenting on a different election altogether. Some of the errors were factual. A Financial Times reporter wrongly declared on Twitter that the outgoing taoiseach Leo Varadkar had lost his seat – apparently not understanding that Ireland uses a different electoral system to the UK. (Varadkar had to sweat until the fifth round of counting.) Another newspaper’s election “explainer” got the number of seats in Ireland wrong. More often, however, the Irish election hot-takes were – well, decidedly lukewarm: Sinn Féin’s surprising success was just like Brexit, or Donald Trump. The BBC’s venerable foreign correspondent John Simpson declared that Ireland, “which has been politically stable for decades”, had now “succumbed to populism” without providing any evidence of what he meant. Other commentators, including a Conservative political strategist, declared that Irish voters had primarily been motivated by a rising tide of anti-British sentiment. (In fact, just 1% said that Brexit was their number one election issue.) Sorry guys, but not everything is about you. Yes, Brexit brought old resentments towards Britain to the fore, but this election was mainly fought on bread-and-butter politics. The much-vaunted economic recovery has not been felt by vast swaths of the population, especially those trying to find a home. The health service is a mess. No wonder most Irish voters listed housing and health as their primary concerns. Looking at the Irish election purely through the prism of British politics – or even of the rise of populism – misses a lot of the nuances of what has happened in Ireland. Having rejected Fianna Fáil in 2011 – the party of Éamon De Valera was blamed for bankrupting the country in the financial crisis – Irish voters have turned their back on Fine Gael too. The parties’ combined vote looks likely to be about 43%, a record low. Sinn Féin’s surge has been remarkable. In my native county, the party topped the poll with an unknown candidate in a constituency in which Sinn Féin had not won a seat in decades. That pattern was repeated across the country. The Sinn Féin triumph has changed Ireland’s electoral landscape – and could change its relations with Britain. A border poll on Irish unity is firmly on the political agenda. But here again, British commentators would do well to take a deeper look at what’s going on. A majority of young Irish voters now say they want to see border poll soon. But more than Irish unification they want public services and better prospects. Almost a third of young people in Dublin voted for Sinn Féin. The republicans’ success ensured that a slew of leftwing candidates were also elected as Sinn Féin’s voters transferred to the Greens, the Social Democrats and other parties under Ireland’s proportional voting system. The Sinn Féin tsunami was not preordained. Many Irish voters wanted change but only alighted on Mary Lou McDonald’s party as the vehicle for their disaffection relatively late in the campaign. Having performed badly in recent European and local elections, Sinn Féin unexpectedly emerged as the alternative consensus in the closing weeks. These are the paradoxes and complexities of a dynamic political situation. Which is something that many British commentators have not had to deal with for quite a long time now. Watching RTE’s excellent election coverage over the weekend, I was struck by the absence of the predictable thinktankers and partisan talking heads that often dominate British political coverage. Rather than discussing the election they wished had happened, studio guests were talking about the vote that had taken place. Maybe it’s time Britain followed Ireland’s lead.

From This is Anfield. Hope Dave doesnt have a problem with this, there doesnt seem to be much info on the offal. In documents seen by This Is Anfield ahead of a consultation with the public on Wednesday and Thursday, the Reds intend to add around 7,038 seats and be completed in time for the 2022/23 season. Work is planned to begin in autumn this year with the establishment of foundations and substructure, with the demolition of the current upper tier to take place at the end of the 2021/22 campaign. Key redevelopments will be undertaken out-of-season, in the summers of 2021 and 2022, to allow minimal disruption to matchdays—as with the Main Stand expansion between 2014 and 2016. There will be no restriction to the current Anfield Road End during works, with the new stand to be built to the rear of the existing 8,962-seater setup. The new two-tier stand will be the same height as the Main Stand and will create an imposing view from Stanley Park. The current Anfield Road End fan zone and disabled parking areas will be occupied for construction, with these to be relocated on a temporary basis. The stadium will ultimately lose 125 parking spaces, with alternative disabled parking provided in the Stanley Park car park. Liverpool will likely ask the Premier League to play at least their first two games of games at the start of the 2022/23 season away from home, as with in 2016/17 when their return to Anfield came on the fourth weekend of the Premier League. The stand will continue to accommodate both home and away fans. The initial idea was to move the visiting fans to the opposite side as currently, but this isn’t clear if this is still the case. There will be no new hospitality sections in the stand, but a new, internal hospitality lounge will be added, presumably replacing current off-side hospitality locations the club utilise. There will also be improvements made to the interior and exterior concourses at the Anfield Road End, with the club releasing images of their proposed changes in November. The club will submit their new planning application later this year, with design to be led by KSS architects as with redevelopments to the Main Stand and the Kirkby training ground – the latter is due to completed this spring, and is currently on course for a potential handover date in mid-March. Liverpool will update the public on their plans for changes in the Anfield area later this week, with the new plans involving re-routing the road itself around the stand, rather than closing it off completely. Anfield Road will, though, be closed during the construction and on matchdays. The Reds are set to apply for permanent and unrestricted use of the stadium for other events, including sports such as boxing and American football, and concerts in the off-season. It all means that, should things go as planned, Liverpool will be playing football at a 61,000-capacity Anfield stadium in two-and-a-half-years’ time. https://www.thisisanfield.com/2020/02/liverpools-timeline-to-complete-anfield-road-end-expansion-revealed/

There is just so much gold in these quotes. "Solskjaer key to the recruitment drive." Yeah, sure he is. You can only imagine how many big-name players are telling their agents "No, I don't want to play for Bayern and win things, or for PSG and get paid huge money. What I really want is to develop under legendary coach Ole Gunnar Solskjaer." Also I like the idea of "upgrading" from Pogba to Grealish. I mean, Grealish is good but how they have managed to mis-manage Pogba is hilarious. My money's on him to be widely considered as one of the best in the world once he moves to a proper club. “Our focus is on bringing in a combination of experience and the best young players with potential to develop further, fusing graduates from our academy with high-quality acquisitions. Ighalo to miss Manchester United’s Spain trip over coronavirus travel fears This might be the best bit, though. Talking up their "clear plan and philosophy" of recruitment to bring in all this experience and top young players, blah, blah, blah, and right next to it is a link to a story about their last transfer, a player they bought out of pure desperation who would never tempt any other top 6 club. Do you know where Ighalo finished in the Chinese league goalscoring charts last season? I went and looked it up. He was 19th! Ole's at the wheel, indeed.

Cookie Monster for me. This is one of the sweetest things I've ever seen-

I refuse to forgive that twat for the way he snidely left our club. He kept the club dangling for 18 months, running his contract down but making noises that a deal would get done with us, the club that he loved. 18 months fucking pissing us about procrastinating over a new deal, treating us like cunts and yet the second Madrid come knocking then the cowardly twat drops us like a used tampon and he's off to Spain faster than a shithouse rat up a drainpipe. He left us high and dry, cost us a fucking fortune with his snide bullshittery, leaving us with fuck all transfer fee and Antonio fucking Nunez. For all of Moores' and Parry's incompetence, that treacherous blood-sucking cripple treat our club and our fans like cunts. Rafa too, deserved so much better. Owen is a mercenary without a shred of integrity or remorse, save the sorrow he feels for himself. Oh aye, and this club ambassador of ours (!!!) still refers to the Mancs as "we". UN FUCKING FORGIVEABLE. That sniveling cunt is a pariah and we should all turn our backs on him as he did us.

So does my hoover.

Flemings Jeans on Scotland Road.

It's mainly the bit about denying the Holocaust.

Not true.

Never understood anything but apathy in regard to Owen. Seriously, who gives a fuck about this stuff? He left over 15 years ago, and we were fine. The end.

I spent about 15 minutes explaining to the bird who sits next to me how Le Shark were a blag Lecoste & why it is completely unnacceptable to wear for a grown man, it was lime green as well. She was nonplussed.

He should do his bit for the environment by stopping breathing.

FU Jeans. Lee Jeans and even Wrangler don't seem to be about much any more.

Had to neg for the hash browns. Its zero tolerance from here on in, I'm afraid.

A very special player. 6 minutes of pleasure watching this.

Heart. Obduracy. Work rate. Tenacity. Order. Balls. Offensive brillance. Intensity. Limitless ambition. Accuracy. Nous. Energy. Grit. Genius. I don't ask for much. These acronyms are not easy because I am trying to keep it topical. Winter break over, we carry on as we have been doing all season. It really is as simple as that. It doesn't matter that our opponents are propping up the table and in danger of being cast adrift, we treat the game with the same single-mindedness and clarity of purpose as in all our other games.

Yea, Diadora was good -- also Sergio Tachinni

Traitor. You chose to fuckoff to bigger and better things. You left us high and dry. It's all about brand Chris Smith.

Mate, he was staying in a hotel at the exact central point of Incest, carrot crunching and general yokel idiocy in the UK To get that breakfast and free drinks, pastries etc is nothing short of miraculous and should be applauded

Few thoughts about that polling: - it'd be useful if the "compromises" that Labour need to make were explored a little bit more, wouldn't it? Who and what are they compromising with? What does that actually look like in terms of policy? I mean, we probably have a good idea (think Hodgey on social housing, circa 2007), but it'd be helpful if that were actually spelled out in these discussions - similarly, the complete absence of even an attempt to explain why bullshitty rightwing talking points such as the threat of "wokeness" are not only believed, but accepted as a valid reason for voting a certain way. Isn't that worth focusing on even a little bit, rather than just suggesting a party must immediately pander to those ideas to win votes? Obviously, it's not really in the media class's interests to discuss such things, but for people who are serious about actually getting progressive politics in this country, it's probably worth considering how and why such Shapiro-esque bullshit takes root - if we are just giving up on challenging anything anymore, and immediately pivoting to whatever the voters want, regardless how unpalatable, will it actually materialise into Labour success at the ballot box, anyway, and where exactly does it all lead? We tried to out-Tory the Tories in 2015 with immigration mugs etc, and still lost, so I'd be very dubious of going down that route again. The argument basically seems to be yes, as a country we're awfully hateful and rightwing, and the best way to counter that as a nominally progressive political party is by also being awfully hateful and rightwing, and at the same time never looking at why as a country we seem to be becoming more and more hatefully rightwing - lastly, fuck Sam Coates

City could only dream of a turnout like that.

Anyone think we could replace this man easily is living in cloud cucku land

Bournemouth

Things I Saw On My Way Home From The Holiday I Didn’t Take... Nat Phillips : Two more starts for Stuttgart, first in the 2-1 Cup defeat at Leverkusen, then in the apparently comfortable 3-0 home win over Aue that keeps them in third. With the long-term injuries to Badstuber and Kempf, he looks to have a good opportunity to get regular games in a good team. Marko Grujic : Left on the bench in the midweek cup loss at Schalke, where Hertha blew a two-goal lead in the second half before conceding a third in extra-time, and was not among the four substitutes used by Klinsmann. Started in the League game at home to Mainz, in a switch to a 5-3-2 formation. Barely involved - his most visible contribution was to elbow the opposition keeper in the ribs while challenging for a cross - and was taken off at the break as part of a switch back to 4-4-2. Mainz went on to win 3-1. Not everyone called Jürgen is a football genius. Rhian Brewster : Another 90 minutes in the 3-2 defeat at home to Derby. Not entirely suited to the ‘lone frontman’ role. Played a role in their second goal by rolling the loose ball away from opposing keeper Ben Hamer into the path of Kyle Naughton for the tap-in. Went close with a chance after a counterattack when the score was still 2-2. Not much you can do with that level of defending and (particularly) goalkeeping, though. Herbie Kane : Missed the draw with Reading with an ankle injury suffered in training. Sheyi Ojo : ‘Not involved’ in either the hard-fought league win over Hibs or the Cup victory at Hamilton. Harry Wilson : Started for Bournemouth in their 2-1 defeat at Sheff Yoo. Missed a good early chance with a stooping header, then had a shot from eight yards out blocked straight to Callum Wilson, who tucked it away with aplomb. Got hacked down towards the end of the first half, in a way that even Fat Jon Moss couldn’t miss. Saw virtually nothing of the ball in the second half, largely because the home team had the bulk of the possession, before being subbed with twenty minutes to go. Rhys Williams : Another full game for Kidderminster in their 1-1 draw with Darlington. “Not at fault” for the Darlington goal. Dan Atherton : Conceded two goals from corners in midweek as Marine saw off Widnes 5-2. Had ‘a bit less to do, really’ on Saturday as the promotion-chasing Crosby outfit won 7 (seven) to nil at Droylsden. Just three points behind Ramsbottom United, the Northern Premier League North West division is the place to be if you want a close title race. Loris Karius : Kept his first clean sheet since mid-November as Besiktas beat Gaziantep 3-0. Still seventh; still just five points off the top. Maybe Hairy Hands Keys can watch the Turkish League if he wants a title race.

Speaking of proper man love...

I listened to the whole podcast yesterday. Carragher has been really good on Sky on the whole despite the weird agenda some Liverpool “fans” like to push but this podcast series Is another level and has shown how good an interviewer he is. There hasn’t been one I haven’t enjoyed. This was easily the best one. For me I have no problem with players running down their contracts. The contract is signed by both parties and both know where they stand. If you extend like Zaha did then you’re fucked and aren’t choosing where you want to go. If you run it down then you’re taking the risk of running out of form like Eriksen and losing your sharpness and place in the team never mind the risk of injury with all that brings. I don’t believe that Rushie sabbatical talk either. Revisionist shite from Owen which then brings into question a lot of other things he says. He went because it looked like the club was going backwards and if he stayed another season or two then the move would never had happened. Just own it. I’ve always said I just think he had no balls when it came to saying to Real it’s Liverpool or nowhere and he has to live with that. He was thinking about the World Cup which to be fair he admits. The one thing which made me feel for him and maybe softened to him a bit was the bit where he said his wife was crying all the time wanting to go home. That must have put pressure on him. The people who booed him and had a go at him then I think always had a bit of a problem with him. Carra says that those people would have softened in time and I agree with him. It’s the United move that was the nail in the coffin for the majority. These cunts sing about Liverpool every game and they’re not singing about great games they beat us in or trophies they won. They sing and chant all sorts of vile shite about Hillsborough, the city and scousers and it’s game in game out. They invented this “bin dipper” phrase that seems to just be used by everyone now. I seen somebody put on twitter in response to famous fan or something saying to forgive Owen and they said “but he signed for our rivals” as if that’s the problem and he’s completely missing the point. If Owen signed for Everton I don’t think people would have been arsed or any other club we have competed with bar maybe Chelsea for the same reasons. He knows what these cunts behave like and he still did it anyway. He probably did it because he felt like he wasn’t going to be a legend here anyway but well I’m sorry that was your assumption and the mistake you made. It’s not about forgiveness. You’re not a legend in my eyes and nothing can change that now. I don’t like Suarez either or Torres. I feel sorry for Carragher because you can hear the strain in his voice for his mate but he made his bed so he can lie in it.

I dont a problem with any of our ex-players, apart from the shite ones. That list is pretty long, M.Owen will never be considered on it.

Just driven down to Ipswich for work. Booked into one of these pub restaurants with accommodation. Got settled. Had my tea. Have just wandered back to the room across the pub garden, and there’s a fucking massive blood red full moon hanging low in the sky. I’m stuck in Suffolk, werewolf fucking central, on a full moon, and without any silver bullets or knives. Luckily my room is on the first floor and two German families have just booked into family rooms on the ground floor. A veritable all-you-can-eat buffet for a werewolf.

We went to her folks for a meal and drinks Friday night. Her mum had been sorting through her Gran’s jewellery and said she wanted Claire to have her eternity ring. It’s a double diamond band eternity ring worth well in excess of £5k. Claire got annoyed with her mum for wanting to look after the ring for her and made some barbed comments about not being trusted and she’d obviously take great care of something so important. Within 24 hours she’d lost the ring!

I used to think it was hilarious that Leeds got relegated and struggled to get back into the Premiership. I still think it's hilarious. Long may that continue.

Can't believe Hummels is only 31. Seems to have been playing like it's a testimonial for about two years.

Mate of mine was taking the piss out of Hot Chocolate so I sent him a link to this track & told him to fucking listen to it. I'd actually forgotten how good it was...