Number 1 Activity
I could bemoan the fact Brighton's goal came from a corner that wasn't and via a major deflection, but really, our lack of a strikeforce is the bigger problem.
We somehow finished 10th despite a run of 1 point in 2 months last year, but with su...
Bloody hell that Ramsey goal that made it 3-1 at Fulham was a fantastic goal.
The fuck was this about someone throwing a cabbage at him during the Preston game on Tuesday?
I don't know what it is but this has the air of a season, much like 2008/09, 2014/15 (or at least outside everything October-December), 2015/16 or the relegations in the 1970s and 1980s, where nearly everything that can go completely fucking wrong do...
Fuck me that last 20 minutes was depressing.
Between more takeover talk, more evidence the strikers at the club aren't fit for purpose, and all the other crap, can't really see this season being anything other than just never ending tedium.
I honestly thought Man Utd would have a brighter shade of pink for their new away number, similar to the training wear, but instead it does look like the cliché "red shirt with the white laundry" thing. Although tbf, some other PL clubs h...
Well thank fuck that turd of a fixture list is over with.
Not that Palace or Leicester would be the teams I'd want to face to try and pick something up, mind... but we'll need something ASAP all the same.
I didn't think we'd manage it but this has been even more shit than Cardiff was.
I miss the World Cup.
That Huddersfield own goal was... different. But I guess freaks like that happen when you're game chasing.
This is going to be a long arse season... eurgh.
Oh well its only Manchester City away next.
Last week showed some promise but this was just a turd of a performance, culminating in that last minute penalty miss.
Can we just have another World Cup instead?
I have no idea what to expect this season from the Mags. Depends which one turns up - the one that showed genuinely excellent form in the final three months of the season, or the one that picked up 1 point from 10 matches in the autumn. Unlike some pundit...
There's a symmetry to this, given that last season, the team bonus structure was only agreed in the last few weeks and after direct negotiations between Ashley and the players, lead by Lascelles. Just appears this time that the dispute is more public...
Leave it to Mike Ashley to bank over £120million for last season and still tell Benitez the policy is sell to buy.
Presuming the more expensive variant is player issue.
Still think the replica is overpriced anyway, not least given they'll be replacing it in a year.
Bit of an odd final, but I think France are fair value for tournament winner. Thought they half-arsed the group stage but they controlled all their knockout games, including today, very well.
Roberto Martinez in the World Cup semi-finals... bit of a leap forward from when he got fired by Everton two years ago shortly after a mauling by Sam Allardyce's Sunderland.
Huh England won a penalty shoot-out. That's new.
England did alright yesterday, didn't they?
Meanwhile the end of Group B has been magnificently farcical. Makes the VAR trial... interesting.
Getting Boateng sent off and changing to 2 at the back seemed to be the cue for the most coherent football Germany have played all tournament. Also its a hell of a kick from Kroos at the end, and an utter kick in the pants for a Swedish side that had defe...
I was aware some Argentina fans weren't exactly looking forward to this after losing the World Cup Final and then 2 Copa Americas, but I doubt anyone anticipated such a messy rabble.
I think we should probably just have a general World Cup thread.
On this game, France did get away with a pretty half-arsed performance. Something Argentina couldn't. Although quite impressive Germany seemed to put in more effort than both of them,...
Its different but I kinda like it. Reminds me of Harchester United.
If nothing else, last night's game was a lot more watchable and interesting than the non-event in the FA Cup last week.
I'm not entirely sure what, if anything, Man United were trying to do yesterday. The penalty did tip the game because it meant they had to do something to respond, and they took too long to really get going.
Top 10 finish on our return to the PL is a very good return given some of the poor runs on the pitch and transfer-based politics off it. And I'm aware its on goal difference, partially helped by Chelsea effectively not bothering to take part in a goo...
I liked the Southampton fan who went on Trip Advisor and put up a semi-serious 1/5 review of the hotel that cancelled the team's booking. Made me chuckle.
But yeah. I think Huddersfield might get a point from one of their last 2 games, and even then...
Championship final day seemed like a very exciting free-for-all. Fuck knows what it must've felt like for one of those with a team in the eye of the storm.
Also when I was idly wondering about promotion favourites, I don't think a Cardiff City...
I suppose in truth, my expectations were hurt by a summer window that promised more than it did. Maybe its a sign of not paying attention, I don't really think many of our summer arrivals have made that big an impact, although Murphy and Lejeune have...
I'll be slightly more generous and say 7/10 for the black & whites, because we don't really have the most amazing squad, and the spring run that booked survival has been fantastic, but the run of form between Halloween and Christmas was soul...
Bloody nora West Brom, having been dead and buried since about January/February, could actually pull this off.
Well... provided Southampton and Swansea both fail to win another game this season.
Still feel its likeliest to be a straight fight between Southampton and Swansea, which means that the game between the two at the Liberty Stadium is potentially a "winner stays up" affair.
Well, we're staying up... all that one can really say is a positive from the non-events at Goodison and then yesterday. Must be on a "reach 40 points then go on autopilot" vibe.
Its been a while since I checked my Nostradamus, but isn't Wenger quitting one of the harbingers of the apocalypse?
41 points, with a 13 point gap on the relegation zone and 5 to play... if we go down now something has gone horribly wrong. Newcastle have been excellent in the last two and a bit months, and its been a hell of a ride.
I thought Mustafi was poor in the A...
First instinct was penalty, if a soft one.
West Brom are gone, and sacking Pardew as they did earlier is basically the PL equivalent of rearranging the deckchairs on the Titanic, although if nothing else it gives his permanent successor enough time to assess who needs to go.
Stoke's defensi...
This genuinely might be the first time I've felt confident enough to say we'll be staying up.
Not that I can boast that quickly, given we're not over the line just yet, but I think the ball's in our court to wrap this up.
In a further development, they have sacked their manager.
Most of their fans seem bemused and irritated that it didn't happen sooner, judging by relevant Twitter hashtags.
Is there much else to say about Carragher other than he's been a dingbat?
Certainly, judging by his failure to score or really look like scoring, Guido Carillo is not the answer to their problems. But one would agree with Pellegrino's assessme...
Good day for the black and whites, and a pretty good performance. They looked more up for it and more assertive, and its good to see it worked in a key game.
Although granted it did help that Southampton were awful and spent most of the game looking like...
West Brom have had a poor enough campaign without their prep for this involving alleged taxi thefts from senior players. The fuck is going on there?
I'll be honest, I wasn't anticipating that.
What a great performance & result that is.
Chelsea doing as well at this defending champions thing as well as last time then.
At some point, the "at least we didn't lose" positive isn't going to be enough. Especially given our fixture list has already used up most of our 6 pointers. Saying that, a team with more accurate shooters than Palace would've run...
What a chore this season is turning out to be.
I'm aware some sources have cited he wanted to return to the West Midlands to be back with his family. But its also plausible we refused to pay the loan fee and his wages. Its also not out of the question that given he scores nearly every time he pl...
Apparently he turned down Newcastle to move there.
Figures.
We did look in the game for the opening half hour, but didn't do enough with our pressing along with the odd woeful pass, then duly conceded two silly goals and gave up.
Meh. Suppose I'll live with it if we stay up. Would be nice to go beyond R...