angelman

Diving is awful and I wish it was out of the game whether it be JRod at Villa or Young last night. I was watching some old clips on youtube recently (back from 1986 I think it was), and the tackles that were going in were proper tackles and those on the end of them didn't roll around the ground like a dying swan. I think all this diving is an extension of that. You start of rolling around and then you take it on from there to simulating any contact. Unless the FA/PL/FIFA or whoever are going to allow the hard (or even, just firm) tackles back into the game, then this play acting is going to carry on. Most football players act like a bunch of pussies. Might as well blame Sky for this as well!!! The money has delivered a sanitised version of the game full of ballerinas. If you feel the need to cheat have some class about it:

I got a DSLR (Sony one) and wanted a point and shoot with decent zoom as I found that I wasn't using the DSLR as often as I should because it was too big. I got a Panny TZ40 because of the zoom. x20 which can be doubled up to x40. I know you said you didn't want a compact, but this might be up your street if zoom it the important factor. http://www.expertreviews.co.uk/digital-cameras/1299427/panasonic-lumix-dmc-tz40

I guess you could be right, but on the other hand, he's crosses me as not being the type of person to joke about when it comes to his reputation and knowledge of football. If it was someone like Jeff Stelling then I could understand. So I have to err on the side of disagreeing with you that he is a WUM. Anyway, I have no idea why people get so worked up about his thoughts. He is just a sad old ex-footballer trying desperately to stay involved in the game but slowly but surely he is being pushed out - he's a dinosaur, a has been from a different generation; he hasn't played for 25 years and is stuck in the past. Granted there are others from the same era, but they seem to be somewhat better, although Garth Crooks can also join Lawrenson. Lawrenson is chippy, patronising, unfunny, far too negative and miserable about everything he discusses and to cap it off, is fugly with a dodgy barnet (I can't work out whether he was uglier with or without the 'tache). Saying we are going to lose week in week out, he is bound to be correct sooner or later.

"they created more chances than Southampton did"....and they also let in 3 times more goals.

Benefits of a youngish squad

It also seems to include corners/free kicks as there is a figure for crosses from open play (the total crosses being higher suggests this). JWP crosses more per 90 minutes than anyone else, so while his completion rate might not be highest in percentage terms, the number of completions is. I have a feeling that in the years to come, JWP will be a (subjective, I know) more valuable player than LS. LS has the benefit of making starts last season, but JWP is improving so much game by game. He has already replaced AL taking corners and is getting more and more game time. MP has come out and said that he is the model young professional and has the perfect attitude. Looking at the squad and Gaston, the two players keeping him out of the team (depending on what formation we play you could also include JRod) are Davis and JWP and I think with JWP's increased stature Gaston might find it hard to replace him. Gaston has skill (and no, not trying to get into an anti/pro Gaston debate or the fact that there might be a fair bit of it being a vanity signing) but so does JWP. We spent £12m on one, and the other came through the academy. Naturally when a large price tag accompanies a player, you expect great things. With JWP coming through the academy, that expectation isn't there as there is no justification of price tag. JWP is 4 years younger, and I suspect that if you compare his skill levels to Gaston's at the same age, JWP would look the better bet.

Maybe not this season, but he did last season.

What is the step back? On the face of things, his man management seems to be spot on and he has a (largely) happy camp and is asking players to play a very physical game which they are doing and so far doing well. The defence is sorted. The midfield is dominant (so far). The attack might be a wee bit lacking in clinical finishing and we could score more goals, but that isn't really a step back. He likes the academy and wants to bring them through. So scratching my head a little to see the step back. Is it because he's foreign?

Like Nathan Dyer?

If a player who is under contract refuses to play for their club and goes on strike so that he can force a move, other clubs should show some solidarity and turn around and withdraw their interest in signing them.

34.

Aren't they changing the format of the Europa league sometime soon? Thing I don't like about it are the Sunday league games. I like football at 3pm Saturday or 7.45pm Wednesday. Also I don't like the way the Champ League rejects can enter it at the knockout stages. And there are far too many games. If you joined in the first qualifying round, and went through to the final, that is something like 23 games. Last season, Liverpool joined in the 3rd qualifying round, and potentially had 19 games to get to the final. As it was they lost in the first knockout round meaning they only played 12 games.

If Zaha can't get in the Utd team, why would we want him here? And why should we groom him for Utd's benefit?

I confess to leaving early most games. I am a bit retentive about it...when the extra time board goes up, I look at my watch and leave 1 minute before time is up, getting to the exit about 20 seconds before the final whistle. If not, being at the top of the stand, it takes me an annoying amount of time to get out (admittedly not too long, but patience isn't a virtue I have) and too long to get over the railway lines. The Fulham game I stayed till the end as too many people had already left.

Lovren - Superb. AGREE Osvaldo - Poor as it stands in fact crap. NOT SO sure as it does take time to adjust and this is probably the hardest position to adjust your game. Convinced he will be OK. Wanyama - Fair to middling. THAT's a little harsh. He is a lump that the opposition finds hard to get past. Certainly in recent games he is becoming more mobile and his game is improving. Ramirez - Utter **** and the worst money signing we have ever done, an absolute load of **** WELL, he certainly is a disappointent so far given the talent that he has. I always found him too light weight. Bit like Bercovic. Rodriguez - Getting there. HE SEEMS to be but still lacks the ability to really punish teams. Hopefully that will come. Never focused on him pre-Saints. Mayuka - Another **** signing. NOT great and not setting the world on fire in France. Yoshida - Average if he is going to be a squad player, poor if intended to be first team. I THOUGHT that he did quite well last season once he bedded in. Sure he makes the odd mistake but I think he's better than just average. Davis - Very good for the price and his performances. INTERESTING that MP plays him a lot more than NA did. Does his job without setting the world on fire. Doesn't make too many mistakes. Clyne - Learning his trade but very good indeed. AGREE and surely will get better. Gazzaniga - Does not inspire. HE WAS young and inexperienced when NA threw him in and started chopping and changing. He actually had the best record of the three last season (I think!) Forren - This is up there with Ali Dia or Ramirez. NOW I see this differently to others. To me he was an insurance policy, one that wasn't needed. However much it has ended up costing us, it is less than relegation.

I agree that we should be filling the stadium. I have been to every home game so have done my bit. But the bit about sloppily dressed fans and pride in personal appearance - what a complete and utter load of ****** - never read such tosh. Who cares what the fans personal appearance is like? You might think that people dressing up in River Island or some other tatt is what people should look like. Personally I think River Island is dreadful rubbish (no offence meant, but just to show the one person's opinion differs from another). As an adult I would never wear colours as that to me is something kids do - but if adults want to, then that is up to them. My nipper wears my old Rank Xerox shirt. What should we all be wearing to maintain a high degree of personal appearance? Jacket & tie, suits, tails and a top hat?

Depends whether the club can get him to extend at some stage, or cash in before Bosman kicks in.

oooops!

Think it might be worth battening down the hatches on Sunday night. http://www.metoffice.gov.uk/public/weather/warnings/#?tab=warnings&map=Warnings&zoom=5&lon=-3.50&lat=55.50&fcTime=1382918400&regionName=se http://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2013/oct/25/britain-stormy-weather-power-cuts http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/10403009/Hurricane-strength-winds-to-arrive-on-Monday.html Think I might sleep somewhere else, as I have one tree that might cause a bit of damage should it fall.

Not sure he was sacked by the sound of things. Seems the job got on top of him and Parish tried to persuade him to stay. Would Warnock go back? I quite like him, well at least from what I have heard of him on talkSPORT.

I don't have Sky but do have a ST. Games are OK on TV but I tend to fall asleep in them, and I've yet to fall asleep at a ground.

^ I would imagine that the Ultras would be giving him a pretty hard time with 1 in 7

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KPwNxGiorKA This was his last for Italy 3 weeks ago. I have faith in him and am sure that he'll get at least one against Fulham.

There might well be an over reaction but maybe they are a tad concerned (like me) about where the goals, what few of them there have been this season, are coming from. 2 goals from open play from our 3 main strikers in 8 games isn't great. I still believe Dani will fire them in (hopefully starting with a few vs Fulham), but it's all compounded by the lack of goals from JRod and RL.

I am sure that Dani is frustrated by the lack of goals, but any striker would with 1 in 7. But frustration doesn't mean malcontent although headline writers like to embellish things like that. The only thing that I can as to why he might want a move is the World Cup. If he isn't scoring, then he might be dropped from the Italian team. Gaston on the other hand, I can imagine being unhappy as he isn't getting any games at all. I am just waiting for Dani to get his scoring boots on, and then I hope there'll be no holding him back.