The 2011/12 Gary Speed Memorial Thread

[Plubby]

Gareth Bale is so great.

Gareth Bale

GARREEFFFF BAAAALLLEEEE!!!

There's a cutscene at the end of Diablo 2 with the quivering old guy saying "Baaaaaal... No, no, no, no, noooo". This is how I picture Premier League defenses.

[ChrisSteeleAteMyHamster]

I'm glad Spurs are doing so well and playing such shexshy football because I really can't see Modric and Bale being kept at the Lane if we were finishing 6th or 7th. VdV maybe but we nearly lost those two over the summer. With those three in our midfield for the next few years though......oh yes.

[Jimmy]

Yeah, I think if Spurs don't get Champions League football this year then it would be very hard to keep hold of Modric and Bale. I think I'm becoming more and more of Spurs supporter as the season goes on. I mean, they've been my Premiership team for a few seasons but I try to go out of my way to watch all their games on TV - and I think I've caught nearly all of them. I just love their players and watching them play. Especially Bale. The man is on fire at the moment and defences must hate playing against someone like that. Hopefully Spurs win their game in hand against Everton because they'll need to build up the point gap between Chelsea before they play the two Manchester clubs.

[DavidMarrio]

Wow, I knew our chance conversion percent was bad but I didn't know we had the worst, worse than friggin Wigan. Converted 8.20% of our chances compared to Wigan who only have a slightly better 8.38%

Depressing that stat.

[Lineker]

Yeah I saw that on Infostrada's twitter the other day. Not good.

[Lineker]

Liverpool striker Luis Suarez has been suspended for one match, fined £20,000 and warned as to his future conduct after admitting a Football Association charge of improper conduct.

The 24-year-old Uruguayan international will miss Friday's Premier League game against Newcastle United at Anfield as a result.

Suarez, recently given an eight-game ban for racially abusing Manchester United's Patrice Evra, was charged for an abusive hand gesture following the 1-0 defeat at Fulham on 5 December.

He raised the middle finger of his left hand as he walked off the pitch.

Liverpool have also been fined £20,000 for failing to control their players in the same match.

Reds midfielder Jay Spearing was sent off during the game, prompting several Liverpool players to remonstrate with referee Keith Friend.

The club admitted the charge of failing to ensure their players conducted themselves in an orderly fashion but contested the financial penalty.

However, an independent regulatory commission ruled the £20,000 punishment was applicable.

As it stands, Suarez, a £22.8m signing from Dutch side Ajax in January 2011, will miss almost a quarter of the league season because of the two suspensions.

The player's lawyer says Suarez intends to appeal against the eight-match ban for racially abusing Evra but Liverpool have yet to decide what action to take.

They say they will wait to receive the full written report from the independent commission, although they have repeatedly backed Suarez in public, a move which has attracted criticism from a number of black footballers.

Wonder how many games he will end up missing through suspension this year!

[Colly]

Fiver says Andy Carroll remembers where the goal is on Friday. Bollocks.

[DavidMarrio]

Fiver says none of our players know how to put the ball in the back of the net on Friday.

[Crybaby Bunting]

Fiver says that Carroll scores a hideous own goal.

[ChrisSteeleAteMyHamster]

Fiver says that Gerrard gets injured again and will make his comeback in March,

[Crybaby Bunting]

^ We have a winner!

[Gazz]

Fiver says that Liverpool finally concede that this year is not going to be 'their year'.

[DanLowth]

Fiver says that Liverpool finally concede that this year is not going to be 'their year'.

There's a graph that's (apparently) been going around the internet for years showing the cycle of Liverpool's season. It predicts that on December 25th the title bid is dead and January onwards it's "building for next year". It's startlingly accurate.

[MDK]

Fiver says that Liverpool finally concede that this year is not going to be 'their year'.

There's a graph that's (apparently) been going around the internet for years showing the cycle of Liverpool's season. It predicts that on December 25th the title bid is dead and January onwards it's "building for next year". It's startlingly accurate.

[Lineker]

Wolves midfielder Nenad Milijas has lost his appeal against the red card he received at Arsenal.

[Colly]

While Connor Sammon won his against Man Utd.

[Asuka's Gonna Kill You]

Smalling likely out for up to three months with glandular fever to add to our massive injury list.

[R.W.]

Yeah, must suck to be Man Utd with all their injuries and lack of replacements right now.....

[Baddar]

To be honest though, we do have a lack of replacements given the size of the injury list - when Michael Carrick is at CB for only the second time since being thumped by Fulham two seasons ago, you know things are bad.

[R.W.]

When you've only got one fit player out of your starting GK & back 4, and are playing a 19 year old CM at RB and a 17 RB at LB, and are bottom of the table, going to one of the top two for your last game of the year, you come to me and complain about injuries.