GJM

We will finish above Man City Salah will continue scoring as he has done this season We're never gonna stop

Evidence from this season is that we need 6 or 7. Grujic seems an obvious one to go and AOC is out until...well, we don't know when, but could be half the season down before he is really back in contention. That leaves 7. I don't see us selling anybody else from that group.

Of course. Impossible to argue with that. It feels we are going in the right direction over the past two seasons. Mane, Salah, Robertson, Van Dijk all fit that description, I think. Keita and hopefully 2-3 others we bring in this summer will also. It gets easier to do it when regularly playing in the tournament that most consistently good players aspire to play in. We just got to the final after our first qualification in 9 years. That should help.

So, to regularly match a team of Real Madrid's quality, we need similar quality players, right? Nothing contentious about that, but context is all. We have just had our first back to back CL qualification since 2009. It takes time to build a squad like that. Are we closer to it than 2 or 3 years ago? Yes. Will we be there next season? Probably not. Closer still? Almost certainly.

He had 3 shots to save yesterday and didn't get anywhere near any of them, and didn't even try to get to Otamendi's header which, fortunately, went on to the bar. He was awful. He just does not stop round things from going in nets.

The summer 6 months away. That's an eternity in modern football. No need to rush to market on this at all. I would send Nike a copy of Phil's contract, signed up to 2022, and suggest they stick a fucking Barcelona shirt on that. No deal now, not for Jan, and not for the summer. If they want him, they can come back in June when he will likely be worth even more.

Or at any point. Beat them, and then remind Phil that they weren't arsed about him in the summer until they got cucked by PSG/Neymar, and even then were not willing to pay his value. Stand firm, refuse to be low-balled, win stuff. Things change quickly.

To me, it is simple. We tell him the same as in the summer - you are not being sold, so this is all that you have for now, make the most of it. I am also against do any deals now for the summer. We may win a couple of things between now and then and, given that a large part of the appeal of the Spanish sides is that they win stuff - I don't entirely buy the 'he is latin, these clubs are in the genes' stuff....be interested to see how long the queue to go to Barca would be if they were mid-table - so let's try to win a few things ourselves and then see how the land lies. Also, the WC is going to change valuations so why be in a rush to market now? Hold firm. He will man up and play, just like he has since September.

Never a penalty. Big game, on the telly, and a referee that couldn't resist the opportunity to show the watching world what a fearless human being he is.

Liverpool 3-2 Wigan, 2008. Watched in an outside bar at Nairobi airport with a large group of Somalis, all of whom were mad reds. Each goal was greeted by much hugging and I was an adopted Somali for the afternoon. England 0-0 Algeria, 2010 World Cup. Watched from the studio of a Vietnamese TV broadcaster, where I was the pre-match, half-time, full-time pundit. I predicted a 0-0 before the game and my hosts all laughed at my crazy English humour - they were all predicting England to win by 5 or 6 goals. I had acquired something approaching genius status come the final whistle.

Even when the results were not going so well in 2011/12, you looked at the dugout, saw the man, and thought, 'this is my club''. I don't think anybody else could do that.

Why no 'editorial' after the Arsenal game?

Well written nonsense. Technical merit - A+. Content - F.

I am not completely anti-BBC or public funding of it, but I fail to see how what Jermaine Jenas thinks counts as 'news'. BBC does at times have a tendency to disappear up its own arsehole.

The larger issue is why the BBC consider a fairly mundane opinion piece by one of its staffers is considered to be the top news story on the football section of its website. Publicly funded self publicity.

Champions. As always on the Friday before the opening game.

At least we did not announce that we had actually signed van Dijk, as we did with Clint Dempsey back in 2012....which also ended in a humiliating public apology, to Fulham in that instance. It's progress.

1. Coutinho 2. Sturridge 3. Can

I read that UEFA rules prevent two teams with the same owners competing in the same competition. Given that RB own both Leipzig and Salzburg, and that both teams are going to qualify for CL, then the owners have to make a choice as to which team they enter. I have also read that the owners will favour Salzburg over Leipzig. So, there may be a number of players there that can be tempted away from Leipzig by the promise of CL football and likely higher wages.

Traore is a player made for youtube. Full of dribbles and tricks, but you don't get to see the complete lack of end product and the fact that, after every run, he is utterly fucked for the following 10mins.

1. Firmino 2. Can 3. Mignolet

Is this the footage of him in the Europa League final?

1. Alexander-Arnold. 2. Ejaria. 3. Can

1. Clyne. 2. Sturridge 3. Mane

1. Milner 2. Klavan 3. Wijnaldum