sh#t waffle

It's about time a game featured weather-dependent genitalia. I am so excited about RDR2 I have booked the release date off work (I am 40 years old) - and that was before the horse bollock news.

I'm nothing if not fair, so I will grant him a stay of execution given that he had a second goal disallowed. But it does mean he needs three against Chelsea, otherwise he's out on his ear.

I think these things are generally cyclical - you get the visionary managers that have great success with a certain shape, and then they get aped by everyone else until another manager has great success with a different formation. Our last attempt at an old school 4-4-2 was Suarez and Carroll, and it just felt so archaic. I'd far rather the flexibility that our current set up has, though I take your point that for anyone outside the Top 6 it could offer more chances.

If you love 4-4-2 so much why don't you marry it?

He'll score at least twice on Saturday. By which I mean, he better do, otherwise we should terminate his contract.

He's been absolutely outstanding this season! My favourite player at the moment, technically outstanding and works his arse off.

a) Spurs are an absolute gaggle of pricks b) For some reason as an actual team they annoy me more than any since Ferguson's United - I rarely if ever see them actually play well, but they grind out results time and again. They get compared to us a lot, but I don't see it; they can press effectively but I genuinely don't see this thrilling attacking play that so many do. c) b may have something to do with a d) I think Mane got the ball before touching Son e) d may have something to with a f) fuck you, Spurs

Simao's plane sure is taking its sweet time. Edit: by which I of course meant the 16 hours since Josef made the same comment...

I too would just like to clarify that I clearly remember intending to post the following at the beginning of this thread: I get the feeling that Andy will become something of a cult hero among supporters. I would imagine Klopp might need to ease him into the side as he gets used to the unique demands of playing for Liverpool. He will probably start a few games early in the season, and I suspect he will do well. I also look at the fixtures and predict there will be a really weird game, perhaps against Burnley, in which it appears that Coutinho is allergic to passing to him. This is all part of the bedding in process. He may then be left out of the side for a while, we will need to stay patient and trust in Klopp when this happens. When he comes back into the side - and he may need a Moreno injury for this to happen - he will never look back, and will quickly become the best left back we've had in years. But I forgot to post it.

I think you're probably spot on Paul, but I do think that there is an element of risk at play here, regardless of the reasoning behind it. There is no doubt that last season we were lucky with injuries to the front three. If any one of them had picked up an injury for any length of time, the drop off in quality was such that we would frankly have been boned. Our system simply doesn't function properly when one of those three is replaced by someone that plays with less intensity, let alone ability. And last season we had Oxlade Chamberlain, who although usually woeful when played further up the pitch, was clearly signed in the knowledge he could in theory cover there. I can't quite believe the progress we've made in the last 12 months, and if Alisson, Fabinho and Keita work out as expected, we have the best first XI we have had since we last won the title, and one that only Manchester City can even make an argument for being better than. And I have such faith in the recruitment at the club at the moment that I am confident all three will be that good. I am also confident that Shaqiri will provide good cover. But I can't shake the feeling that if we don't sign Fekir (or at least an equivalent) that the lack of depth may be a risk which proves to be the difference between getting close to or winning one of the biggest trophies.

Yep. Though it does also reiterate that we won't be going back for Fekir. I realise that many journalists categorically stated that we wouldn't be buying Alisson, but that was always to do with price. Now that people like Joyce and Pearce are mentioning Fekir's medical issues more openly, I think it would be genuinely weird for us to go back in for him as there will be too much focus on his knee if we now contradict the stories that we were too worried about it to proceed in the first place. I can't say that I understand us ditching the Fekir deal and then not going for someone that can offer similar. We have always known the Ox is out for the whole season, so in effect we only have one midfielder this season (albeit a bloody brilliant one in Naby) that can quickly break through the lines. If Naby gets injured then our midfield is back to looking somewhat pedestrian. The perfect thing about Fekir is that he can both cover the front three, and offer us something different in the midfield three. I realise Jurgen waited for Van Dijk, waited for Keita and waited for Alisson, but that was all to do with the negotiations - if the only reason we pulled out of a deal for Fekir was that his knee is fucked, we're not waiting, we've just pulled out. In which case I really feel we need to bring someone similar in.

A come and get me plea if ever I've read one: http://www.goal.com/en/news/pulisic-on-klopp-why-dortmund-can-learn-from-liverpool-and/cn1jze7pci1210nyj3sk056ny

Agreed. Plus, and I cannot stress this enough, Mourinho is an absolute prick, which makes everything he does really annoying, including buying Paul Pogba.

There are clearly some decimal points missing from those prices.

And I'm certain you're not alone; the club clearly make more on a match day from a constant rotation of people that only attend a handful of games per season. Allowing that to happen to the detriment of previously regular matchgoers is bad enough, but to in addition then punish those with fewer credits by necessitating membershp, thus effectively hitting them with a £27/£13.50 booking fee (depending on whether they go to 1 or 2 games) is simply scandalous in my opinion.