The Fish

He moves like the de-aged De Niro in the Irishman.

The trouble with hooking Longstaff is, who for? Miley is 17yrs old and just as jaded as Longstaff. Anderson is literally just back from a back injury. Hall is apparently part of some apocalyptic prophecy that forewarns of doom and ruin if he should ever play more than 5 minutes at the end of a game.

He's a game but limited player. When we have control of midfield he can be a real bonus, but without Joelinton and Bruno beside him, he looks a little lost.

Frustratingly we looked most likely to create a chance when we got into extra time. We were playing with pace and intensity. We could and should have been doing from the off. We were slow and obvious in our build up (with Lascelles being the worst offender), which meant Blackburn had so much time to settle into their defensive shape. Against a low block you need to move the ball around the pitch at pace and we came nowhere near that. Isak and Gordon were chasing inaccurate balls on the flanks, miles away from their goal. Longstaff was so poor technically, as was the rest of the team, but he especially seemed to only be able to pass the ball 5yds sideways or backwards with any reliable accuracy. This should have been an opportunity to put 2 or 3 past the Championship's second worst defence in a thoroughly professional, morale boosting win. Instead it was a 120 minute confidence sapping slog. The only player who should feel good about themselves are Dubravka and maybe Gordon. It'll be Liverpool at Anfield next.

You should be flogged

That's a fivehead right there

He's gone full teenage girl now. Strawman arguments and strops all over the shop.

Having a discussion with a Liverpool mate who will not agree that in the 60s Liverpool bought success. He even suggested that the money spent in 60-62 could have been from a sponsorship deal, or maybe they were paid in instalments. They can't have bought success because they continued spending after they got promoted. Fuck he's dense.

Was chatting to one of the dads while our kids were having a swimming lesson. He's 30 and has two kids under school age and is paying £24k a year on childcare(!). And this isn't expensive Montessori type childcare, just your basic decent nursery. He had to move because he he was priced out of the housing market, but this means he doesn't have the help of family as they're too far away now. He and his wife both have to work to cover bills and have little to no money for anything other than surviving. (The only reason he can afford the swimming lessons is because he gets it as a perk through work. )

We've signed a bunch of kids like Heffernan, Hernes, Sahar, Harrison, Sanusi ffor the U21 and U18 squads. These players might make it, might not, but coached well they'll at least be good enough to sell.

Ewerk's right. The plan should be to hoover up loads of talent that we can sell or make use of ourselves. But the aim will be to sell Ashby, Kuol, or Minteh for millions rather than a couple hundred thousand to a Championship team like David Edgar or James Tavernier

Yeah, I doubt you'll find any fans of Chelsea on here. Liverpool get an inordinate amount of praise for 'success against the odds' when their modern successes are built on inorganic growth decades ago. Without the money pumped into the club 30-40 years ago, they wouldn't be one of the biggest clubs on the planet now. So when you hear stuff about them doing it without the riches of Man City you have to take a moment to realise that Liverpool bought their house years ago and any investment now is just maintenance. Man City only just bought their house and are pumping in huge sums to get it looking good. The issue for us (and other clubs) is we've just bought a house and the residents association is not letting us put on an extension, or convert the loft space even though they've all already got all that.

Don't they have another sanction looming?

Off to re-watch Dogtown and Z-Boys, thanksverymuch.

To be fair to him, he can get a group of good players to win a trophy. That's not as easy as it sounds. Trouble is, he burns the world in order to achieve that. He'll fall out with owners, coaches, players, staff, opponents, journalists in his pursuit of a trophy. I wouldn't want him here as anything other than a guest for some Bobby Robson Foundation evening.

Generally, when we're posting in the Other Games YY/YY thread, we're chatting about topics loosely connected to games, that happened within the last few days, or at least the last decade...

Our change in our xGA after Pope's injury is shocking.

That scene with his old friend in the car... couldn't believe it. But Noho Hank scenes are always the highlight.

Watched the first season, but haven't got round to paying for the rest. It's ace though. Some genuine laugh out loud moments and yet loads of actual pathos. Reminded me of M.A.S.H. in that regard.

You're kidding?

The Lettuce will definitely last longer than Gordon