alles ist gut

Leicester was Monday

As Pete says, read from left to right.

Obviously there will be a proper preseason thread at an appropriate moment, but in the meantime... https://www.liverpoolfc.com/news/lfc-face-leicester-city-and-bayern-munich-return-singapore-pre-season

Dani Pacheco?

Top, top 'once a Manc' Evans analysis there, Dave.

Seems accurate to me

Back to reality Sepp van den Berg : Schalke were not expected to add anything to their two-game winning streak at Bayern, and they did not; the final score line of 6-0 did not flatter the champions. Van den Berg had already blocked a shot on the line before the Bavarians opened the scoring. Contributed to the scramble which led to the penalty that allowed Bayern to make it 2-0 by tripping over the ball on the edge of the area. Dragged out of position before Gnabry scored the third. Blameless for the last three goals. Schalke now third from bottom with two games left; the last home game against Frankfurt will be pivotal. Jack Bearne : “Unused substitute” (he was warming up in the technical area at the end of 90 minutes) for Kidderminster as they completed their implausible run to win the National League North promotion playoff final 2-0 at Brackley. Bearne has had limited playing time during Harriers nine-game winning streak with unspecified muscular issues; where his career goes from here is hard to foresee. Conor Bradley : Back from his rest for the the playoff semi-final first leg against Barnsley. Bradley got fouled hard a couple of times early on ( and then left plenty on Herbie Kane when he had the opportunity). Didn’t see as much of the ball going forward as usual; there were a lot of long balls up the middle with very little to show for it, up until Barnsley took the lead after an hour of play. Bolton then made a couple of substitutions, concentrating on getting the ball down their left and forced an equaliser a few minutes later. Bradley nearly set up a winner with a knock-down at the back post, but the resulting shot was blocked and that was that. Friday night at Oakwell will decide all. Luke Chambers : Chambers declined to be selected for the England Under-20 squad for the World Cup in Argentina to stay and fight relegation with Kilmarnock, who were back at home to face Livingston, reverting to a back four with Chambers at left-back, where he looked more comfortable than previously in a back three. Started the move for the opening goal, low through ball from the halfway line to the edge of the opposition box that was flicked on for Vassell to finish. Also played the chip into the area that led to a harsh penalty for handball that made it 2-0. Defended well in the face of half an hour of pressure thereafter. Out of the bottom two, with two more home games still to play; survival is in reach. Leighton Clarkson : Aberdeen faced Hibs at Pittodrie looking to strengthen their grip on third place. Curiously lacklustre from the home team who struggled to create chances; a shot sliced over the bar from a Clarkson corner in the 44th minute was the first of the half. Hibs were much the better team but couldn’t convert their regular chances, including a penalty. It finished 0-0, which is no less than the visitors deserved; Hearts losing at St. Mirren gives them a five point cushion over their next opponents, and a win at Tynecastle on Saturday would clinch third.

Not for me, Clive

He is; they aren’t keeping him, apparently.

Probably Nick Leeson (not the one on here, the real one)

Ironing Drawing Lying

Top, top homesick Italian analysis there, Dave. Do we count Borini with him having spent all that time in London?

There's a whiff of Diouf about it

The Powers That EBU

Top, top wish.com analysis there, Dave.

A 34-year-old whose career in England was ruined by being shit at crosses, with five clean sheets this season in the German second division ? Ambassador, you are spoiling us.

Flags, red or otherwise Jarrell Quansah : Bristol Rovers had a midweek game in hand to play at Shrewsbury, which did not develop to their best advantage. Quansah was beaten in the air at a corner for the first goal, and failed to stop the run and shot across the face of goal for the second. Later he went close at the other end with a header from a corner. It ended 2-1. The final game of the season saw Bolton, already qualified for the playoffs (Conor Bradley rested), come to Rovers; Quansah in a back four this time around. Plenty of blame to go around for Bolton’s first goal from a corner, including Quansah letting his man block him off as the ball came into the six-yard-box. Also missed a header immediately before Wanderers second. The visitors eventually won 3-2, and Bristol Rovers finish 17th. Meanwhile, next stop for Quansah is likely to be Argentina, with England’s squad for the Under-20 World Cup to be announced tomorrow. Jack Bearne : Late substitute appearance for Kidderminster in their frankly implausible 4-1 playoff semifinal win away to Kings Lynn (who had finished the small matter of 24 points ahead of the Harriers in the final table) for their eight win in a row. They now face Brackley (away, again) on Saturday for the chance to play in the fifth tier. Sepp van den Berg : In the starting lineup for Schalke as their struggle against relegation continued at Mainz, and played the whole game, all 102 minutes of it. His interception in the middle of the field started the move for the opening goal of the game. Not culpable for the equaliser from a corner, nor for the free kick that levelled the score at 2-2. Schalke won the game with a 102th minute penalty, apparently the latest-ever goal in Bundesliga history; helpful weekend results mean that with three games to go, they are out of the bottom three for the first time since September. Luke Chambers : After the announcement of his contract extension, kept in the back three for Kilmarnock as they resumed their fight against the drop at Motherwell. Not to blame for either Motherwell goal (the first came from a cross from the other side of the field to him, the second from a long punt also up Kilmarnock’s right). Good block on a cross in the first half. This role doesn’t allow him to get forward much. Leighton Clarkson : Aberdeen attempted to extend their winning run at Ibrox. It didn’t happen. The visitors were forced to play on the counter in a bad-tempered game. Clarkson didn’t see a lot of the ball as a consequence. Would have been relieved when the offside flag went up to rule out a Rangers goal, as he had missed the chance to clear the ball in the build up. The best Aberdeen chance of the second half came from one of his inswinging corners from the left. Conceded the corner from which Cantwell scored the only goal of the game. Still, Hearts matched Aberdeen’s result, and that leaves the Dons five points ahead with four games (three at home) remaining. Announced as the winner of the Young Player of the Season at the club end-of-season dinner, held with a month left in the season.

Top, top bootlicker analysis there, Dave.

Top, top slaphead analysis there, Dave.

https://www.liverpoolfc.com/news/elijah-gift-nets-hat-trick-liverpool-u18s-beat-leicester-friendly In other Gift news, he's been selected by Spain for their preliminary squad (26, has to be cut to 20 next week) for the European Under-17s Championships later this month : https://rfef.es/es/noticias/convocatoria-de-la-sub-17-para-el-europeo-de-hungria

Full time 1-0 A win’s a win. Good to see Hill get more time on the pitch, and maybe more significant is the ten minutes that James Balagizi got; if he were healthy, he’d be nearer a viable squad midfielder than anyone in todays team. We finish the Under-21 season a distant second to Man City; we should take some credit for coping with having no serious right-back for all bar three weeks of Ramsay, and a long stretch of having no healthy central striker.

LFC 1-0 (McConnell 60’) Originally credited to Beck by the local commentators.

So, it’s come to this; Liverpool Under-21s at Crystal Palace (1 pm, possible streams I wouldn’t know about that sort of thing): Davies; Jonas, Beck, Koumetio, Miles, Corness, Stephenson, Norris, Frauendorf, Woltman, Stewart. Subs : Hughes, Poytress, Hill, McConnell, Balagizi The club has given certain trusted outlets to understand that Ben Doak is *not* with the first team squad. Bobby Clark, on the other hand… Also we appear to have two keepers on the bench.

I hope your heart isn’t in your underpants, it’s not right

Top, top Home Alone reference there, Dave.