saintwbu

Anyone else feeling slightly less hatred towards Poch after that picture...? almost feels a bit like some form of closure haha.

As others mention often, Sigurdsson would be an unbelievable signing, but I just can't see it happening as I feel like his experience at Spurs has probably put him off moving to another Prem team. I know he has been accused of going missing but I really think that Wijnauldum is a player we could do with, the top scorer in a very poor Newcastle team that all go missing, I think the good he has shown this season (his first in the prem of course) should be taken more notice of than the not so good.

They've refunded the ticket for today's game, but then also given them a free ticket for the next game. So instead of just getting a new ticket for a new game, you get your money back altogether so you're watching the game free of charge.

Whenever I have seen Derby on Sky Sports highlights reels over the last few seasons I've found them to be really entertaining and the atmosphere in the ground looks brilliant. Whenever I take the time to watch one of their games they look absolutely ****. Hillsborough was rocking last night, think I'd like Sheffield Wednesday to come up, but also a big fan of Steve Bruce so likewise would be happy with Hull coming up. Definitely, absolutely, positively, certainly not Brighton.

Completely pointless fact but Southampton Solent University football team wear Under Armour kit I saw last week. Considering it's probably just bog-standard catalogue teamwear it was really smart, and seemed very fitted.

I'd probably put Martina in the 'wins' category due to his performance in relation to cost and expectancy. Came over with a really bad reputation, but has put in a few good displays recently (and some not so good, admittedly), but for his cost I think he's been good value for money. Seems a popular guy in the squad as well. Agree on all the rest though.

Like getting a penalty away at City after it hit Sterling on the back? Or scoring a second which came directly from Aguero wrongly being called offside? meaning you win a game that probably kept you in the title race. Oh no wait, that was Spurs. Leicester's luck/bad luck has been no different to anyone else's, people in the media are just trying to blow it up because it's little ol' Leicester

But they played alongside each other on Saturday and you still criticised him so what was the reason for that?

It felt like the early goal made us realise we would cruise, fans and players alike, and the intensity was never really there. Predictably unfair criticism of Pelle as usual, thought he was brilliant, nice finish for his goal and some great touches to bring others into play, but most of all an absolutely sublime directed header/flick on to put Long in behind, really hope they show it on MOTD tonight. Long's energy was a huge loss when he got replaced, wonder if the clash with Darlow affected him more than it looked? Clasie's delivery from set pieces was absolutely woeful, as was 99% of his passing, and Wanyama's wasn't much better in the first half but he looked like a completely different beast in the second half and I loved his reaction to his goal, you can tell he has been frustrated by going all season without one and it seemed like the team were delighted for him. A strange, but good day at the office! Can't we play Newcastle at home every week..?

I agree with the injuries thing, but I always moaned about that attitude last year when we were flirting with the top 4, the old 'oh they'll drop off when the injuries hit' (which of course they did for us), but injuries are not guaranteed to happen, and as seen this season they can affect the big 4 as much as anyone (City will tell you that, not that they have an excuse with their squad depth/spending power). But the point about their style of play has been mentioned a few times in recent weeks on TV, and it's irritating. Chelsea played with 9 men behind the ball all season last year, and it was great tactics supposedly. For me, Leicester are showing they have a plan B and are bloody good at executing it. Around Christmas I was thinking that they are just outscoring the opposition (4-2, 3-2 type of thing), which always results in a rapid slide down the table once the inevitable goal drought arrives, but they have found a perfect plan B in defending solidly whilst still carrying a massive attacking threat. Brilliant, brilliant football from game 1 to game 32, they couldn't be more deserving of the title if they win it and I really hope they do.

I've always been of the opinion that handball is handball and that is it, it is very rare someone 'deliberately' handles the ball, and that rule leaves it to interpretation which is a significant cause of the inconsistency we see in officiating. In hockey if it hits your foot, it's a foul, intentional or not. Huth stopped the ball travelling towards goal because his hand was far away from his body, in my opinion that should be a clear cut offence, but I have to accept that for most people it's all about intent for some reason. Schmeichel is spot on IMO, keep it simple, make it easier for everybody.

Funny how it takes one supposedly bad game from Pelle to bring out all the critics, but scoring one, setting up two and winning a penalty against Liverpool got minor praise, as did scoring two against Stoke, and also every chance we had vs. Sunderland a few weeks back seemed to be created in some part by him as well. I couldn't watch the game today, i flicked through it later on and it still seemed that most of our positive moments came via Pelle in some form, most notable the Mane chance/Simpson handball all coming from a fantastic turn and pass from none other than the whipping boy himself. Certain players are just chosen to be blasted more than others I guess. I don't think he deserves to be dropped against a terrible Newcastle in favour of a Rodriguez who has missed almost two full seasons, and an Austin who has been out for 3-4 weeks.

Found it really refreshing to hear Koeman seem incensed at the end and finally give his genuine opinion on the refereeing. I personally thought the Simpson/Huth incidents were two of the least obvious refereeing errors that have gone against us this season, and I can see why they were not given, but come on we all know they sometimes do get given just not in our favour. I have said for ages we are too nice, there is no crowding of the referee from our team, which we'd all like to believe is something that we are proud of, but the referee's in this league are so weak that crowding sways them beyond belief, and we always suffer because of it (West Ham at home the main incident I can think of). Koeman finally saying just how **** the officials have been towards us in these three games in a row alone shows just how frustrated he must be, and in another season these decisions could be the fine line between staying up and going down, or Champions League vs. Europa League. People who say you shouldn't blame referees for our failure to win games are delusional, at this level you may only get one opportunity in a game, and if an oppositions player denies that illegally (foul, handball) then that is cheating and is enough to win/lose a game, so have a day off. As I said, today's incidents could've gone either way for me, but we never get them, and this season has been beyond a joke.

Couldn't agree more, been saying for about 5-6 years we should lose Rooney, but as you mentioned the UK journo's will be saying he MUST play, just as they were on Sunday Supplement last Sunday embarrassingly. Vardy and Kane both hitting the 20 goals mark this season, when was the last time Rooney did that!? Now he's played in whatever position they can squeeze him into in order to get him on the team sheet. Wayne Rooney is not Philip Lahm, if he is not the best option in his position then he should not play, his versatility is a myth shoved down our throats since his various managers discovered he was no longer capable of playing as a striker. Currently, he is so far behind Kane and Vardy in my pecking order, but alas probably not Roy's.

Lallana is now benefitting from the old 'play for Liverpool and you are guaranteed to be in every England squad' rule, after a poor season but for the last 3 or 4 games, so I guess he can enjoy that gain from his move. What have him and Henderson done to start today over Vardy or Drinkwater?

Anyone else still watching the highlights of this game at least once a day?

I put it in the match thread but: Anyone see Matchday Uncovered and at half time as Vic walks out the changing rooms in his kit it seems like Origi and Sturridge look at each other as if to say 'oh sh!t here he comes', might've even been able to hear them mention 'beast' LOL. When he is on song I do absolutely love watching Vic.

Anyone see Matchday Uncovered and at half time as Vic walks out the changing rooms in his kit it seems like Origi and Sturridge look at each other as if to say 'oh sh!t here he comes', might've even been able to hear them mention 'beast' LOL. When he is on song I do absolutely love watching Vic.

My theory is that when it comes to a big decision, it's easier to go against a small club than a big club if you aren't 100% sure, because the coverage in the media and criticism for your mistake will be significantly less. I haven't watched the United game on MOTD but I'd be very surprised if they didn't do a big chunk on the penalty that United didn't get, despite it having no hating on the outcome of the game, and yet ours didn't get mentioned despite neither having an effect on the outcome (I know there were less talking points in their game). As if a ref is ever going to give a penalty and red card to a Liverpool player within 5 minutes of the kick off, it just would never happen against us as we have seen in this season and last season's version of this fixture in almost identical fashion. But no one will talk about it, whereas had it been the other way round you can guarantee it'd be played on repeat. Does anyone else find it irritating that all you have to do when applying for a job in punditry is say "I played for Liverpool" and you're guaranteed the gig? Carragher, Souness, Redknapp, Mcmanaman, David James, Michael Owen, Lawrenson, Hansen, Murphy, John Barnes, Ian Rush, Didi Hamman - Just the names I can think of off the top of my head that I have to listen to regularly on Sky/BT (albeit Rush and Barnes less so nowadays), and then even had to suffer Neil Mellor on the steam I was watching today!!! NEIL. MELLOR. and the disdain in his voice when we equalised seemed so clear to me despite his efforts to hide it. God I hate that lot, beating them is amazing but to do it in that fashion makes it an incredible feeling.

Have we been fined for failing to control our players? That seems to be the usual compromise from the FA when they admit a refereeing error - "oh yeah that decision was wrong but we are going to fine you for trying to tell the ref how wrong he was"

I feel like one day we will move out of the mindset from the era where Rory Delap was our record signing at £4million, and realise that £12million is not a great deal of money and does not buy you much in football anymore. Yes at the time I thought the fee for Shane Long was over his value, but not because I thought it was a lot of money but more because I didn't rate him particularly highly. Last year at Stoke at home I think it was, I was crying out for us to bring him off the bench, which I didn't think I'd ever be doing when he signed! But his run in the team this year has really shown his worth, yes his finishing is hit and miss but he creates a hell of a lot purely through his exceptional work rate, the guy just does not stop. Steven Fletcher, Matt Jarvis and Andy Carroll - 3 British players that cost over £10million and I would not want anywhere near our team, that money really does not get you a lot (and was worth more when those three signed for their clubs at that price).

I loved Alderweireld whilst here, and I often didn't really notice him in games which as a defender I think is a positive thing. Whereas Lovren I always felt was the sort of defender that gets fans on their feet with last ditch sliding tackles and the like, which is why I actually think he's been let down at Liverpool by having to play alongside the (in my opinion) woeful Skrtl, because he has a similar all guns blazing approach, where Lovren needs a cool, calm Fonte-type alongside him in order to allow him to run around a lot and clean up. But I think Van Dijk shades it for me, mostly because i'm just astounded by how good he really is, and I absolutely love the way that he can pick it up in his own penalty area and then end up in the oppositions half in a matter of seconds, having beaten a player or two along the way, just sheer class on the ball.

IT WAS MARCUS BENT

i'd guess it's because they are slightly slipping downwards, whilst we have hit a pretty dramatic rise, so on momentum we would be the most likely. But I think they've got substance and think they'll remain pretty close to us for the remainder of the season.

I'd like to have seen the reaction had Fonte or Bertrand made that challenge last night. VW was brilliant until his dismissal, as he has been on this 5 game run, and the red looked ridiculously harsh from where I was sat and nothing I've seen on TV has made me change my mind. I feel like he's now paying the price for upsetting some of our fans and quick becoming a bit of a whipping boy when things don't go to plan. I get that it was an unnecessary tackle to make, and he 'shouldn't have given the ref the decision to make' but that is just excusing an extremely poor decision during an extremely pathetic refereeing performance (very much a performance).