razor

Arsenal will put 6 past that Man Utd team, mate. We're not clawing that difference back. The truth is, they beat Sheffield by about 7 or something, they beat us, and they'll bury the mancs. I've changed my mind about them, and they will probably deserve to win it. Edit: confession about Arsenal - uncomfortable as it is.

Honestly, I've been wondering this - the sheer size of Klopp is one of his assets. In western cultures, like it or not, big people always have an advantage over smallies. (I'm a smally and I'm telling myself this is the reason I've never got to the top. For me, it's certainly more pertinent than my caustic personality, sallow social presence, poor dress dress and questionable personal hygiene.)

$175m - not to be sniffed at.

Late new wave. The Long Ryders - "Looking for Lewis and Clark"

You probably know it already, but there's a podcast dedicated to debunking Alex Jones' every utterance. To be fair, it's like shooting fish in a barrel. They just play a short clip of his latest syndicated radio show, then mock / abuse / disprove what he says in that clip before moving on to the next clip. It's called Knowledge Fight. Don't bother with the weekly episodes if you don't have time, but if you do have time to listen to one (maybe two!), episode 703 (and 704!) is brilliant. They uncovered the audio from Alex Jones' show on the day of 9/11. It's incredible. He gets his friend on who is a financial advisor who was in an adjacent building. He basically builds him up as an expert "structural engineer" as, probably as part of one of those mixed programme arts degrees, he'd done a course. I won't spoil it all, but when a "special guest" comes on it changes gear again. Spoiler alert: he blames 9/11 on the US Government. Then on Iraq. Then on Iran. Then on Osama Bin Laden. Then back on the US Government. Then on the EU.

That's not a smile, it's a grimace. He looks like he's permanently on the verge of bursting into tears. That's the inevitable outcome of the combination of an unfortunately framed face and a joyless existence. Part of me hopes he gets therapy, the other half hopes he repeatedly stands on an upturned plug.

Stones was missing, too to be fair. Repped for the cool traditional Norwegian dress. And Alfie Haaland looking like he's been asked to stand with a group of people he doesn't know and feels awkward around.

Everyone knows glasses make you cleverer. She's just signed up for an online doctoral degree. And a week in the garage.

My new dog has eaten both of our glasses this week. When we get new ones, I'll look forward to this, thanks.

The press conferences are going to be excruciating if they can't add a laughter track.

It's this type of bad news that's likely to set off the dormant BBBF thread on the MF.

Well you would, wouldn't you? Alonso apologist.

You honestly don't remember what happened? Was it so long ago? It was one of the most astonishing errors ever by a manager. Granted, Alonso hadn't set the world on fire that season but EVERYONE could see the potential. He then delivered a masterclass in midfield for the whole of the following season, and did what Rafa had wanted him to do a year earlier and went to Spain for big money. And, dear reader, we never did get Gareth Barry...

I'd go along with this. I can't remember the opposition, but I remember a slow rolling ball heading for the touchline nearest the Kop and Fowler giving it up and turning away, just in time to see Owen race after it, slide and keep it in to cross it to an absent Fowler who was trudging back to face what he thought was going to be a goal kick. Things were never the same from that moment. He was yesterday's man. Before then, a man worthy of everyone's love.

If you've ever played 5-a-side with a lad who's never played before, you understand that you're actually better off with 4 players - they are so wrong all of the time, they make you worse than having a player less. Likewise, if you've ever played against a team that are just chucked together and don't have a clue what they are doing, they are so unpredictably wrong, they can actually end up doing well. That was the mancs on Sunday. So clueless and unco-ordinated they are almost impossible to play against. "Surely someone is going to close me down here. No, they're not. I'm not sure what to do, then. I've never been here before..."

Laurence Fox public endorsement and appropriation into the culture war incoming in ... 3 .... 2 ....

Yes, I hear that. I wouldn't sing either, obviously, as I am in my 50s, and it seems to be young lads who sing it mostly. But I do get the Maggie one. The voiceless having a voice and all that. But it's kind of passed, I think. The Lizzie one doesn't make sense to me. I always prefer pro-Liverpool than anti-whatever, anyway.

Liverpool jeer the national anthem because its emblematic of the Establishment and class structure. I love it. It was the Establishment which shafted the fans through corruption and deceit. All overseen by the then Prime Minister, Maggie Thatcher. She had long established a culture whereby any attack on the working class, especially northern working class, was fair game - the recasting of the working class from salt of the earth to scum of the earth. And she openly despised Liverpool, the hotbed of anti-Tory sentiment, and resistance. When she died, it was natural that the people whose lives she ruined would have their voice heard. The days of silent obedience are well over, and the once-silenced ensured that the Wicked Witch is Dead song got to number one and it was fantastic. It was right. And when we play in Tory heartlands, and hear anti-Liverpool songs, it is understandable that Maggie's in a Box gets a defiant airing. The queen is most certainly part of the Establishment, and there is a clear correlation between Conservatism and support for the monarchy. But to be honest, I just don't go along with the Lizzie's in a Box chants. They are rich, and privileged, and I am totally against the idea of supporting a monarchical structure, but I just don't see the logic of celebrating her death. Thatcher literally destroyed people's lives. I don't think it reflects well on us. The Maggie one, however unpalatable some might find it, I will get behind and justify all day long. [awaits being called a Tory]

Leslie Ash used to be the woman every boy wanted to meet in an alleyway. Now she's the woman nobody wants to meet in a dark alleyway.

Great listen as always. Just two things struck me. With regards to the Notts Forest fans moaning, emboldened and feeling fully validated by the oversimplified analysis on Match of the Day. By saying that if the drop ball had have gone to Forest, the game would have had a totally different outcome, they're in the realm of chaos theory. Ergo, because the exact same thing happened to us earlier in the half, we can argue that we in fact won that game 0-3. If a butterfly flaps its wings... The second point was the fact that Jules stated that he thought Bradley played well. I'm not knocking the young lad, and love him as much as anybody, but I was really surprised. He needed to go on the outside, but he did it so infrequently, it was striking. Maybe after that electric start, Klopp wants him to play in a more measured way, but he looked for the inside simple ball consistently. Hopefully he can mix it up more for the City game. Finally, I didn't miss Dave pointing out to John that he always knows a great striker when he sees one. Subtle, Dave, subtle!

Neither tussle was a penalty - even stevens. Earlier in the second half we had the ball when the ref stopped play for a Forest head injury - which wasn't. Play starts with Forest with the ball. I was fuming. So, yes, even stevens on both counts. They can't ignore one and cry about the other. And they lost 0-1.

There's only one Red-lewie! One Red-lewie! Walking along, singing a song Walking in a Redlewie wonderland! Barmy army! Barmy army!

I think Thomas Frank and Roberto De Zerbi should be judged on a game by game basis. That is, if their current team wins this week, they are both in contention. But if their team has a bad result, the job is too big for them. And so on and so forth until Alonso is appointed.