Faustus

Thought Agnelli's comments about 'modernising' the current formates were pretty telling. Obviously this is just speculation, I wouldn't be surprised if this in some way a move towards a European Super League with the two other tournaments being of an equal stature offering token promotion slots to the winners as a form of lip service to competition or some kind of jeopardy involved. The removal of jeopardy from the sport is obviously an imperative aim of the big clubs because it severely impacts on their ability to make money. Rumenigge said it was disgraceful- or words to that effect- when Bayern drew Juve in the last 16 of the CL a few years back, meaning that one of the big hitters was going out, while other ties in that round included Wolfsburg v Gent and Zenit v Benfica. Similar to the late 80's when the movement towards the CL started on account of Real Madrid drawing Maradona's Napoli in the first round and Berlusconi thought it was mental because one of the big draws going out so early would have an impact on TV viewing figures. The irony is that it's the element of jeopardy that keeps us going back in the first place. Really, who the fuck is tuning in to watch, say, PSG v Juve in what could conceivably be a midtable dead rubber in a Super League format? Plus, a whole host of gimp fans at clubs have grown not used to seeing their club lose, so could see a load of fairweathers jacking it in easily. Plus, all you'd need is for Barca and Real to suffer a string of defeats- again, perfectly conceivable in such a format- and the toys would go out the pram and demands for further rejigging would grow.

Today's edition of Marca: 'Barcelona should build a monument to Everton for spending 50m euros on Digne, Mina, and Gomes.' From the Camp Nou to the Camp Boo...

Ifithadnabeenfor...

Yan Dhanda just scored for Swansea. Probably the winning goal.

He'll have a job. Lanzini's out injured for at least the season.

"The famous Anfield atmosphere is a myth. As if it'll affect our lads. They've played in Buenos Aires, Sao Paulo, and Clasicos. They're way more intense." Obviously not a patch on a few scals lobbing a couple of cans of Dark Fruits.

I think the main issue re VAR is how the 'clear and obvious' remit has been interpreted somewhat arbitrarily at times, particularly on handballs. You could argue, by definition, if you've changed your mind after looking at an incident from five different angles in slow motion, it wasn't a clear and obvious error in the first place.

Imagine thinking Lovren is shite...

Since when did chucking a pint become a thing? Bells.

Fucking sick of seeing the South Americans whinging. Emotionally unstable tarts. The Brazilians, in particular, always look like they're on the verge of tears. Get a bloody grip.

Fair enough, I was more trying to convey the fact that it's a ball ache heaving your luggage about to the bus stop and waiting around. 'Mission' was probably the wrong word to use in that respect!

Couldn't agree more about South Parkway. It's just an absolute con effectively labelling it as the airport's train station. Reminds me of that Simpsons episode where they redevelop the waterfront and Moe looks to have a flashy bar there, but it's really just an attractive exterior for a big fuck off tunnel that leads to his normal dive. You get off at South Parkway and it's still an absolute mission to the airport, never mind a complete faff! It should be a source of embarrassment that you can get a train from Lime Street direct into Manchester airport, but there's nothing similar available into the city's own airport.

I'm actually 100% sure he would get cheered in that scenario.

No tactical analysis at half time, just talking about the refereeing decisions and the Colombian coach being a div. No wonder we're a thick country.

Superb from both keepers but, fuck me, some players don't half run up to the ball stupidly. Unless you're Also or Hazard levels of brilliance from the spot, why break stride? Just fucking daft.