TheGreatJ

So earlier I heard a Villa fan on the radio in the car say that they out-played Chelsea, were clearly the better team and that Houlier is the man to take Villa forward. The guy hosting the show was clearly not trying to disagree with him, but obviously knew he was talking a load of shit. Villa played well and my hat goes off to them for earning a point at the Bridge (my hat goes off to any team that does it after seeing us get ripped apart 6-0 on the opening day there), but seriously, this guy is one extreme headcase if that was Villa's season-defining game and Houlier will get them Europe. Either he's very, very optimistic or clinically insane.

And I watched some extended highlights of our game from yesterday and reflected a little; Vidic should've walked late on. It probably wouldn't have done us any favors seeing as it was in the last 6 or 7 minutes, but the guy is one dirty bastard, had been roughing-up and pulling people all game and then lunged in at Tchoyi when United were in control and 2-1 up, coming off the ground and not getting the ball. How does that go un-punished? Baddar was saying earlier that United get scrutinized for every challenge, but that handball incident, which I admit was a penalty, was the only thing that could've gone against us yesterday, aswell as maybe Brunt's late clip on Rooney. But then you had Neville's challenge on Dorrans, Fabio smashing Thomas from behind, Ferdinand bringing Thomas down for the penalty and Vidic whacking Tchoyi? Come on, United deserved every bit of scrutiny they got yesterday.

I'm almost certain N'Gog is our top scorer this season. Plus, I like him. So you can't have.

Pwetty Pwease.

Hell, give us that Daniel Pacheco, I rate that kid (and am positive he'd score more goals that John Ca-fuckin-rew). But I doubt Roy would let him go to a Premier League team, though.

Carew to Albion?

Fuck no, please. If we got him, he would be our second best striker, which means: All our other strikers are lost causes & that we've just signed a rival player who the fans will never grow to like because he isn't exactly great. Maybe good for 2 or 3 goals coming off the bench from now until the end of the year, but I'm not content that that would do much for us besides pull up our shite goal difference.

I really want David N'Gog. There was a lot of talk of him coming in on loan at the start of the year, but he snubbed us to fight for a place in the starting line-up at Liverpool. Hopefully now though, he might decide to jump on board til the end of the season seeing as the scousers have some finnancial backing and Torres is clearly going to play when fit, and Dirk Kuyt can easily fill that void left by Torres when he's injured bearing in mind Roy's tactics.

No Houllier shouldn't have come back to Liverpool. His final two years with us were shocking. Lovely guy, did an awful lot for us, but was never the same after his heart problems.

When you say lift, do you mean lift as in the position or lift the mood around the club? There are a number of manager's out there who could do both. Dalglish would provide a short term lift, everyone would be firmly behind him, and the fact that he apparently saw this disaster coming when Hodgson was set to be appointed (as well as recommending Pellegrini) would suggest he's not as out of touch as the Roy apologists would have you believe.

Kenny would only be a short term option though, and long term I'd imagine NESV/FSG and Comolli will be looking at people like Villas Boas, Klopp, Laudrup etc. Whether they'd be interested or not is another matter, but any of them would have to work hard to be worse than Roy.

I think NESV originally saw Roy as their short term option when they arrived, and hoped that he wouldn't do too much damage until a proper manager could be found. The run of poor form which culminated in the Wolves debacle forced their hand though, and now he's essentially a lame duck who probably won't see the season out.

Fair enough. I meant lift the the mood around it and the squads performances on a whole, by the way.

Worried about Albion though - our performance today showed we have more than enough to stop up, but we don't have a great record at Fulham, and Blackpool beat Liverpool and almost beat City, then there next game I'm sure they lost to Birmingham before beating us. They'll be right up for it after narrowly missing out today at City.

I think we need to drop Odemwingie to give him a bit of a break, but we have NOTHING in the way of strikers, and we won't get anything more than a point on Tuesday at Craven Cottage without him. He's brilliant for punishing the smaller teams or teams who have lapses in the defence, and with our next league games being Fulham, 'Pool, Blackburn and Wigan, we could really do with him. Then we go to City, who we always play well against and with the likes of Thomas in tow who always step up for the big games, we could have a go at them, before playing West Ham where we will again need Peter, before playing the shit in February.

And Joe Cole, nice of you to finally arrive at Anfield.

He did a Nugent.

A much needed three points, but anyone suggesting this has given Roy more time just doesn't get it. He's gone at the earliest opportunity.

Coyle proved that perhaps the adulation he's received so far this season is a bit premature, in the first half both teams seemed content with 0-0 and when we upped our game in the second half they did exactly what Villa and West Ham did - sat off us, put no pressure on the ball and dragged as many players as possible back to their 18 yard line.

But the thing is, who are Liverpool going to get that can lift the club? I think Houlier and Hodgson went to the wrong clubs: Houlier should've gone back to Liverpool, and Hodgson to Villa (they need a British manager and Hodgson is the only British manager in European football, go figure). But thats just my two cents.

Had no subs left, so he came back on. Great game to win - I love Chicharito. And if Roo's injury keeps him out for a while, I can't see Macheda going out on loan anymore.

Oh yeah, forgot about that. Just seemed odd how he ran back on like nothing had happened after seeming to be in a lot of pain just a minute before.

It wasn't the most convincing or deserved win, but that's typical of our season. We got lucky with Odemwingie's penalty miss and a few referee decisions, including the penalty not given against Neville (who was hopeless throughout the match). Foy also missed a clear handball against WBA, so he was pretty poor throughout. Not that I really care, I'll take any away win at this point.

To say it wasn't convincing is an understatement, for about 60 minutes of that match we matched you, and in the first half you struggled with our counter-attacking threat. I cannot believe we didn't get a penalty in the first half - if it had been down in front of the Brummy Road, we'd have got it, because the Man United presence in the Smethwick End was huge. I think the only reason we got the penalty in the second half was because we didn't get that one, and Foy knew he had to redeem himself for that.

Rooney's goal was the result of some extremely poor goalkeeping - when the ball is headed with mild power straight into the ground and from about 10 yards, the keeper needs to save, but Carson showed yet again why he doesn't deserve another England cap because he falls asleep and lets goals like that go in.

Morrison's goal was fucking epic, 'nuff said

Chicharito's was a disappointment because we cannot defend set peices without Jonas Olsson and Gabriel Tamas, and then one of, if not the smallest man on the pitch rises above the likes of Paul Scharner to nod home. Can't make it up.

Overall, on the back of 3 losses, 2 to very bad sides, you could say we deserved the win but as soon a Peter missed the penalty it wasn't going to happen - you can't throw those chances away against Man U in their typical mid-season rampage when they are clearly the best side in the league. We need another Centre Back because without Olsson and Tamas, we struggle, and Ibanez seems to be injured whilst Scharner is steady at the back. And another striker, Odemwingie is burnt out from pretty much playing a year-and-a-half of nonstop footie, whilst Fortune is shit, Miller is injury prone and inconsistent, Cox isn't played in the right position and everybody else is away on loan because they aren't ready or are shite.

Manchester United fans, fear not - you shall break your duck at The Hawthorns on Saturday. We are officially fucked.

If Villa win because of that goal it is a fucking injustice.

http://www.thesun.co...icle1045468.ece

Stopped reading as soon as I read:

"A TOP Chelsea star broke ranks to deliver a damning verdict on Blues coach Avram Grant."

Yeah...

Ancelotti turning heel? Macheda overrated? You're all missing the bigger picture here - Boaz Myhill signed for West Brom!

I lol'd at the Mandela's hat, it was epic. I WANTZ ONE!

What I like about the BBC Gossip page is that occasionally it places the bullshit of the sporting media into sharper relief, simply by listing various 'stories' one after the other.

Liverpool have slapped a £100m price tag on Spanish striker Fernando Torres ahead of the World Cup final between Netherlands and Spain.

Full story: Mail on Sunday

Or, Torres will be told he will have to put in a transfer request if he wants to leave Liverpool and will only be allowed to join Chelsea if they stump up £70m.

Full story: News of the World

But Chelsea are growing increasingly confident they can sign Torres for about £50m. (Sunday Telegraph)

Liverpool may have already lined up a replacement for Torres, with new boss Roy Hodgson apparently in talks with Wolfsburg for their £30m-rated striker Edin Dzeko. (Sunday Telegraph)

Or, Hodgson will bring in £15m Nice striker Loic Remy. (Sunday Express)

Another option for Liverpool is Ghana striker Asamoah Gyan, who could be signed from Rennes for about £20m.

Full story: News of the World

Translation: "WE HAVE NO IDEA ABOUT ANYTHING."

I hope that they realise that if any of that is actually true (very, very slim chance it is), then the £50m Chelsea are to spend on Torres will barely cover the price tag of Dzeko considering Woy will wanna get more guys in and even with Remy and/or Gyan it'll be a stretch.

It's funny that you think he'll be given all the money to spend from any sales.

Oh no, I know he won't. That's why I said it'd be a stretch.

http://www.limmy.com...he-netherlands/

From that article, I can conclude that he wants Ghana to win.

What I like about the BBC Gossip page is that occasionally it places the bullshit of the sporting media into sharper relief, simply by listing various 'stories' one after the other.

Liverpool have slapped a £100m price tag on Spanish striker Fernando Torres ahead of the World Cup final between Netherlands and Spain.

Full story: Mail on Sunday

Or, Torres will be told he will have to put in a transfer request if he wants to leave Liverpool and will only be allowed to join Chelsea if they stump up £70m.

Full story: News of the World

But Chelsea are growing increasingly confident they can sign Torres for about £50m. (Sunday Telegraph)

Liverpool may have already lined up a replacement for Torres, with new boss Roy Hodgson apparently in talks with Wolfsburg for their £30m-rated striker Edin Dzeko. (Sunday Telegraph)

Or, Hodgson will bring in £15m Nice striker Loic Remy. (Sunday Express)

Another option for Liverpool is Ghana striker Asamoah Gyan, who could be signed from Rennes for about £20m.

Full story: News of the World

Translation: "WE HAVE NO IDEA ABOUT ANYTHING."

I hope that they realise that if any of that is actually true (very, very slim chance it is), then the £50m Chelsea are to spend on Torres will barely cover the price tag of Dzeko considering Woy will wanna get more guys in and even with Remy and/or Gyan it'll be a stretch.

I'm impartial (though pull for WB being the underdogs and all) ... but I've always loved your home strips because that color of blue is fantastic. But yeah, that shits the bed. I guess if I do decide to get one, I'll be looking for the last couple of years.

Yeah, it's not good.

I always love our kits - our last home kit was sensational with the navy blue on the back and silver lettering and numbers, and our last two away kits with the yellow shirt and navy blue shorts and red shirt with almost black shorts have been great. And these would be great too, if it wasn't for that sponsor. It's just a bit of a let down. We all thought we were getting Ladbrokes, but if you go by the rumours, Ladbrokes backed out because they felt that if they signed up then they would only be able to offer odds on Albion winning, even against massive games like Man Utd and Chelsea, and not even offer odds for any team beating them. It's ridiculous, because I don't think our club would do that.

Wasn't Liverpool in both last year ?

you finally get a sponsor and bleh:

That sponsor looks fucking bollocks on our shirt. I could squat down and shit a better sponsor out than that. Seirously, HomeServe with a big mammoth red house in the middle of a Blue and White (and all black for the away) shirt? Oh gosh, I think the shirt sponsor in the 80's with the no smoking caution sign topped this.

Wright Phillips makes Walcott look stupid as well.

Rooney and Defoe won't be used together again unless there's a comical injury crisis.

I too commented on how much better SWP was than Walcott, and normally, I do nothing but slander him for running into walls most of the time.

Does anybody else think Carrick changed the game, too?

Destroying Wales will make me very happy, indeed. They're really rubbish, tbpf, and although we aren't great, we should decimate them.

Plus, I can see Scotland qualifying - especially if Graham Dorrans gets a run in the starting XI...

Haha, I lol'd at Scotty. I wonder what he was thinking when he saw it.

We've already established you know nothing about football, although it was nice of you to hammer it home by trying to claim that Plessis and Spearing are better than Lucas. Laughably stupid stuff - much like your cliche'd 'analysis' of his game. You sound like a thick Paul Merson, and that takes some doing.

In case you didn't realise, I never said that Plesses and Spearing are better than Lucas. I said you had suffiscient cover in the CDM/CM role, and I used suffiscient in the sense that they could provide cover until Liverpool can actually afford to buy decent backup, as long as Masch stops getting suspended and Aquilani stays fit. And sure my analysis of his game is a little cliche'd, but take a long hard look at him and tell me he is actually any good.

Yes, Mascherano does make a number of exceedingly reckless tackles, Gerrard's not having his best season at Liverpool and Aquilani is only recently actually getting a fare few games. But can you honestly tell me Lucas has the class a team like Liverpool should have?

I've watched him plenty since he arrived, thanks, and yes, he is good. Unfortunately he's one of those players that does the 'boring' stuff MOTD and the like won't show (unless you're English), so he'll never get any credit for what he does - mainly pass incredibly well (one of the highest pass completion rates in the league with one of the highest 'passes attempted' figures), which keeps the team ticking over and retains possession. Part of the problem this season has been that those behind and in front of him (including Carragher, Gerrard and Torres) have been absolutely shambolic at doing the simple things. He's also decent in the air (I remember him dominating Fellaini in the air in the FA Cup game last season), and breaks up a lot of counter attacks.

His biggest crime, as far as I can see, is not being as good as Xabi Alonso - but then how many 22-year-olds are? Players that are 'no good' don't run away with the Bola de Ouro, nor do they carry a Premier League team's midfield for almost half a season. He showed up Gerrard massively against Reading, and has held his own in midfield against the likes of Man Utd, Arsenal and Chelsea - they're not exactly shit, are they?

But fuck all that. He's Brazilian and doesn't have a trick named after him - what a cunt.

The only reason he has such a high pass completion rate is because he plays safe passes to the centre backs. Sure, he's keeping possession, but is he playing great balls through to the likes of Gerrard and Torres? Does he offer much creativity, if any at all? No. And it's all fine and dandy saying that he's been one of your most consistent players this season, but when he has been playing consistently average game after game, he's gonna be your most consistent player, the way Liverpool have been playing. He has incredible work ethic, I will give him that. He works his bollocks off nearly every match, but he dosen't exactly have alot to show for it, apart from his high pass completion rate and number of passes attempted, and they're just statistics anyway. I'm sure you're thinking that I think he meant to be awesome because he plays for Liverpool, seeing as I don't know a single thing about football and I sound like a thick Paul Merson, but the fact of the matter is, I don't. He's never gonna be great, he's not Alonso, and he is miles away from being the polished article alot of Liverpool fans seem to think he has been this season.

We've already established you know nothing about football, although it was nice of you to hammer it home by trying to claim that Plessis and Spearing are better than Lucas. Laughably stupid stuff - much like your cliche'd 'analysis' of his game. You sound like a thick Paul Merson, and that takes some doing.

In case you didn't realise, I never said that Plesses and Spearing are better than Lucas. I said you had suffiscient cover in the CDM/CM role, and I used suffiscient in the sense that they could provide cover until Liverpool can actually afford to buy decent backup, as long as Masch stops getting suspended and Aquilani stays fit. And sure my analysis of his game is a little cliche'd, but take a long hard look at him and tell me he is actually any good.

Yes, Mascherano does make a number of exceedingly reckless tackles, Gerrard's not having his best season at Liverpool and Aquilani is only recently actually getting a fare few games. But can you honestly tell me Lucas has the class a team like Liverpool should have?

Considering Liverpool have enough players that they could sell to rake in the cash (Voronin, Babel, Dossena, Lucas - come on, he's crap) and also have a few young lads who they can sell to lower-league sides, the sale of Benayoun is unlikely to happen, though, IMO. Mascherano is the most likely to happen, the Torres stuff...well, take it with a pinch of salt, and Gerrard is pretty much the same case, although if you dont make the top 4-5, I wouldn't be surprised to see any of them leave.

I think we can safely discount you as someone that doesn't understand football.

Good to know.

I understand football, but he's just poor. It's not like Liverpool haven't got suffiscient cover in that area (Mascherano, Aquilani, you've got that Plessis kid on the way up, and Spearing, who has played once or twice as of late. Plessis and Spearing aren't great, but Lucas is just...he hasn't got good vision, can't pick out great passes and isn't creative enough. And yes, before you say he's been consistent this season, he has...consistently mediocre).

Considering Liverpool have enough players that they could sell to rake in the cash (Voronin, Babel, Dossena, Lucas - come on, he's crap) and also have a few young lads who they can sell to lower-league sides, the sale of Benayoun is unlikely to happen, though, IMO. Mascherano is the most likely to happen, the Torres stuff...well, take it with a pinch of salt, and Gerrard is pretty much the same case, although if you dont make the top 4-5, I wouldn't be surprised to see any of them leave.

"Super Kev". Kevin Phillips is one of, if not the best striker, I have seen up The Hawthorns (playing for us, of course). His natural instict to score was almost scary.

Tomasz Kuszczak. This guy made one of the best saves I have ever seen against Wigan. Just type it in on YouTube and proceed to be amazed.

Simon Cox (Left) and Jonas Olsson (Right). These two are fast becoming favourites at the Albion (Cox is, Olsson is pretty big with the fans - and in size - already), and quite frankly, they are excellent. Cox is the top goalscorer for us after hitting his first league goal for us on Halloween against Watford, and Jonas is a rock.

This kid rocks. Graham Dorrans. Remember that name, because in a few years, he will be playing for a much bigger club - unless we get promoted and end up in the top 8 or 9 next season, and stay there.

Big Dave is the first player that really caught my eye at WBA. I'm sure he was the scorer of the goal in my first ever match, and since then, he's been a fave.

Bob Taylor was great for us. He just scored and scored and scored. Legend.

Chris Brunt. Aside from Ryan Giggs, he is the best left-footer I have seen up the Albion. His precision is excellent, only I wish he wasn't so lazy, was a tad quicker and sharper, and a better tackler and header of the ball. Although I am losing patience with him very fast, flashes of brilliance make me like this guy.

Gonzalo Jara. Watch out for him in the World Cup with Chile. With this guy, they'll probably come second, behind England. Well, I can dream anyway.

Others include Ishmael Miller, Felipe Texiera, Scott Carson, James Morrison, Robert Koren and Tomas Gaardsoe (sp?), but the images are adding up so I'll leave it at that.

£5 Million for Benayoun would be an outrage. He should be bringing in at least £15 Million if Liverpool choose to sell him, but if he has another 2 or 3 years on his contract, IMO, they could ask for £20 Million at the very least.