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VAR is used for the FA Cup where available, it was used for Liverpool as they have the cameras set up.
VAR is used for the FA Cup where available,
I stand corrected.
It's the League Cup where it's not used.
Mahrez absolutely bloody loves playing against Chelsea, doesn’t he?
That was an absolute peach. You won’t see many better free kicks than that
So Reading have to travel north for the next tie, hope the Sushi and quail eggs are up to standard for half time nosh.
Did Havertz escape a yellow card for the penalty?
That's a guaranteed TV match, PInce back to OT
Sushi and quail eggs are up to standard for half time nosh
I went to OT for last years 4th round against Middlesbrough and there was no catering at all in the entire stadium. It appeared they didn’t feel lower league sides were worthy of the usual half time herb-crusted pan-fried sea bass fillet’s with dauphinois potatoes 😉
Back to today match: are Chelsea actually going to turn up at any point? This is just a kickabout for Citeh
Potter can’t have much longer left if it carries on like this. It’s absolutely dire!
@binners - apparently they've got lots of injuries so we all have to feel sorry for them. Or maybe they could recall some of 257 players they have out on loan?
Don’t they famously have more players on their books than any other club in Europe? Every major league is full of Chelsea loanees, so playing the ‘we’ve got injuries’ card is never going to wash
Potter must be watching this crap, then looking at Brighton and regretting his decision. Especially when he gets sacked tomorrow 😂
Unlike a fair few Brighton supporters, I don’t really hold a grudge against Potter and the staff that went with him.
It’s made easier that his replacement has been fantastic and we’re more exciting to watch under De Zerbi. So much so that we’ve started going to away games again as there’s a real sense of FOMO when you’re not there. Plus if we get raided again in the summer this could be as good as it gets for us.
I have wondered before if the var cameras and the TV cameras are different systems and the var officials don’t have access to the views that the viewers do
I guess as they’re not technically official then they’re not able to consult them…probably for the best tbh, would be a minefield.
This was really an old fashioned linesman error, just not able to be confirmed as such by VAR
Oh Joao!
Off on his debut, and a three game ban.
Think Chelsea are going to have to write this season off, you can blame injuries, internal turmoil, etc, etc but they're needing a proper restructure top to bottom, Felix is just a weird one, just a straight loan deal, and now out for 3 games, they seem to be shot shy and filled with forwards who rarely take their chances, wonder if Lukaku is able to be recalled?!
Very much enjoying Chelsea's downfall. Feel sorry for Potter though, even if it appears that he's bitten off more than he can chew. He needs to do a proper clearout and rebuild but I doubt he'll be given the opportunity. The entitled pricks who call themselves Chelsea fans don't have the patience to let him do his job.
Very much enjoying Chelsea’s downfall. Feel sorry for Potter though, even if it appears that he’s bitten off more than he can chew. He needs to do a proper clearout and rebuild but I doubt he’ll be given the opportunity. The entitled pricks who call themselves Chelsea fans don’t have the patience to let him do his job.
heck my sympathy levels are low... he got paid massive amounts to take the job, knowing what it was like in advance and left the previous team because a more lucrative offer came along.
He took the chance, currently it's not working out for him.
Injuries have been bad. I doubt he will get time to get them playing in his preferred way to be honest.
New owner seems pretty unpredictable, more so than the last? For years the chaos policy of sacking managers swiftly and starting again worked, against conventional wisdom. Apparently they are close to breaching the fair play rules as well.
😀
If your local am dram is closed tonight there's a good game in Naples breaking out when Di Maria can stay upright.
The Derby tomorrow and for the first time in a long time it might not be excruciating
God only knows how it’ll go. They’re always unpredictable, but it could be anything tomorrow
I've cancelled my ride tomorrow to watch that, alongside the rugby later. Saturday on the sofa, oh dear.
Good point about the derby,hard to pick a winner for tomorrow: if Reading score first the false hoops will struggle.
Oh, I'll also watch the Manchester game too.
I just watched an interview on Football Focus with Carlos Corberan, the WBA manager and a Bielsa assistant at Leeds.
One thing that stood out was him saying that he spent 15 minutes a week with players individually to give expectations and understand their needs.
Back to the studio and Martin Keown and Dion Dublin were incredulous. Keown said that Wenger did it once when he started but not every week. 15 mins with 20 players - that's 3 hours! said Keown (it's not, but credit for spotting 20x15 = 300)
I was surprised. The players are basically the only valuable asset the team has, to not nurture them with this sort of time seems mad.
Can't imagine Brian Clough doing that.
Can’t imagine Brian Clough doing that.
I could. Well, I SAY I could, suspect every player would be given 15 minutes which would involve about 14:50 of Clough bollocking them for something and 10s of the player thanking Cloughie for giving up the time.
Cagey so far at OT. Fred is doing a great job on De Bruyne. It’s going to be an interesting 2nd half as it opens up a bit.
A very different game from the utter spanking they gave us last time
One of my favourite footie stories was when Clough's team was 5-0 up and he took a player off and didn't put one on.
Both sides pretty evenly matched so far. Ten Hag's done well.
Pick the VAR bones out of that 😂
VARchester United are back, LiVARpool are no more 😂
Utd dragging themselves into the title race!
Have said it before City are supreme front runners but aren’t good chasers. Arsenal’s start has them rattled.
What a team performance!
Bruno, Casemiro, Garnacho, Rashford, Erickson, Shaw and even Fred (FRED FFS?!) were all absolutely superb today. Even Wan Bissaka looks like a totally different player under Ten Hag.
The improvement in the squad since they absolutely spanked us in October is unreal
It is amazing isn't it - the effect the right manager can have, with a very similar set of players compared to predecessor. See also Howe at United, a couple of key signings (not particularly big name ones) but the change in Guimares, Almiron, etc., after he's had time to work with them.
I’ve had Almiron as my FF captain for most of the season.
If somebody had suggested that last year?
Like you said: it’s the sign of a great manager that all the players individual performances get so much better under them
Trippier was a genius signing too. All the players around him have improved massively for his leadership on the pitch
It is amazing isn’t it – the effect the right manager can have, with a very similar set of players
Wtf. Similar my arse. Chuckle brothers ****ed off, mcfred axis of doom broken and hotdogs Sancho, martial sulky **** ****ed off.
2x decent defenders protected by casemiro, erikenson playing class.
If we had 2-3 strikers I'd think we were dangerous.
**** the Bertie's.
Martial is hopeless eh? Not good enough and never puts a shift in. Rightfully hooked at half time. Sub at best.
I’m amazed Tony Marshall is still at OT. Mind you… it’s only because nobody else wants him
It’s the same with Slabhead. It comes to something when the manager will play a natural left back in your position instead of giving you a game, and they then perform better in that role than you ever did
Unless we have major injury issues I can’t see him in the starting line up again. Thank god! The most ludicrously overpriced player in Premier League history, by a country mile.
Martial is hopeless eh? Not good enough and never puts a shift in. Rightfully hooked at half time. Sub at best.
Got an absolute kicking in the 5 Live coverage
Liverpool getting an absolute shoeing off Brighton too
Today is panning out rather well 😂
Utd in the title race for sure now. I reckon Spurs will tank us tomrrow.
Having watched spurs recently I can’t see arsenal losing unless kane or son fall over and get a penalty and/or sending off
As stated a few months ago, ManU have the squad to do well, and Liverpool don’t, it really shows how bad ragnick was and what a horrific choice he was.
Oh dear, 2-2 against the false hoops. Mid table obscurity beckons.
Listened to the Brighton Liverpool game while on the turbo. Sounded like 6-0 wouldn’t have flattered Brighton. Great that the so called smaller teams give it a go these days.
End of an era for Liverpool now. Can’t seem to play with intensity of previous years. Wonder if Salah’s contract has sewn a bit of discontent in the dressing room? Also wonder if Klopp will want to stay for what now looks a major rebuild?
We (Brighton) were superb today. De Zerbi has got us playing so much better than we ever did under Potter. Think we’ve scored something like 20 goals in our last 5-6 games. That would’ve taken 15-20 games last season.
Forest aren't doing overly bad, maybe their strategy of buying 492 players and getting them to fight for it seems to work for them.
No idea how Liverpool have got so bad so quickly.
Muggo - he’s released the shackles, spectacularly! Got to be in with a shout of a European place. I hope you can keep your best players and continue to progress.
Brighton are doing seriously well, even today they left Trossard out due to annoying the manager over the whole transfer saga, and they won easily, they've also been without Mac Allister due to the world cup aftermath, and surviving well, although he was back with a show today.
Liverpool are just a team that have burnt out through changes in the team (Sane, Wijnaldun, etc), miss more than hit transfers and injuries that have taken something out of key players, or robbed the team of players for long periods. I think they've had their golden period, they're now up against Man City, a revived Man Utd and Arsenal, Newcastle on the up and you then factor in Spurs and even Chelsea, who although having a shocker of a season, are still spending like there's no tomorrow.
There's still hope for them, there's the nucleus of a decent side after injuries, Allison is still world class, TAA/Robertson great full backs, it's just central defence and central midfield that's the real concern, they have about 5 centre backs, but none of them making a real claim, you'd think with that issue and the full back problem with defending, maybe a 3-5-2 might be the way ahead?
Or maybe their in a down season from the inhalers.
Forest aren’t doing overly bad, maybe their strategy of buying 492 players and getting them to fight for it seems to work for them.
Jan window is going well so far, 1 (Scarpa) + fingers crossed for the other lad in from Palmeiras next week, least it'll make bedding in quicker with Lodi already there 🙂
Argee, I think you’re right, a change in formation is needed, but Klopp is pretty wedded to 4-3-3.
Even though they’ve won everything they’ve been unlucky to come up against City, state funded, with one of the best managers ever. Any other era and that side would have won 3 or 4 titles. Bit like Andy Murray playing in the era of Federer, Nadal and Djokovic. If Klopp wants the rebuild job he should be given time, given the job he’s done.
Funnily enough the best Liverpool side I remember was the mid eighettes side. Although banned from Europe they'd have beaten anyone. Beardsley and Jonny Barnes were imperious.
City are not state funded. They are owned by City Football Group (CFG). The majority shares are owned by Mansour bin Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan who is a member of Abu Dhabi’s royal family but holds his shares as a private individual and is not a state.
The claims of City's spending being larger than other clubs in recent years is also untrue. Over the past five years City are tenth in the Premiership net spend table below Man United, Arsenal, Liverpool and even Wolves.
https://www.football365.com/news/transfers-premier-league-five-year-net-spend-man-utd-man-city
Liverpool fans like to portray their club as some sort of socialist paradise who never spend money. The reality is very different. Liverpool FC were founded by a Tory who owned Anfield after he fell out with Everton and was left with an empty stadium. He founded a new club and assembled a squad composed of Scottish players who were handsomely paid to relocate and play for the new side. They really are the original financial dopers!
Re Liverpool - Mane really tied the room together.
Did he not?
He certainly picked the right moment to leave.
I can’t understand Klopp just sticking with the high line when everyone has sussed out how to play against it. Get behind Trent or Robertson, while they’re up by the half way line, and you’re on. I just watched MOTD and it’s deja vu. It’s the same every week for Liverpool but it doesn’t look like there’s a Plan B. It’s just carry on doing the same thing and hope it somehow works out
Having said that, I’m absolutely ****ing loving it! Long May it continue! 😂
For all his success, you'd think that Klopp will be the highest profile scalp of the season?
I can’t understand Klopp just sticking with the high line when everyone has sussed out how to play against it
Funnily enough the best Liverpool side I remember was the mid eighettes side. Although banned from Europe they’d have beaten anyone. Beardsley and Jonny Barnes were imperious.
At that time my sister and I were ST holders at Elm Park, she also knocked around with a group that included some Reading players, consequently she could often get us invited into the players bar after the game.
I remember a midweek game, prob Feb/Mar because it was under lights and a bit misty, we were in the bar after and there was a special midweek MOTD (prob Sports night actually) because Liverpool were playing Forest, they were by far the top two teams at the time, and this was a clear championship four-pointer (yes, that long ago). Important enough for a highlights show.
[edit, appears I misremembered this a bit, Forest were fourth but still important enough for a highlights show
And Liverpool destroyed them 5-0. It looked like a normal game and then Liverpool just went 'we haven't scored for 15 mins, shall we get another?' and did something so simple and yet effective and unstoppable that it just looked like they could do it any time they wanted. Like only modesty stopped them.
And as we watched this in the company of professional footballers, albeit a couple of divisions below, the bar went silent. And then someone said that if we got them in a cup game, they'd have no idea how to stop them, they were just such a different level.
As fans at the time we didn't have the analysis that we have now, with ex pros picking it apart with annotated big screens. We knew they were good but at that point, watching pros watching that Liverpool side I realised how good.
[edit 2: knowing the date now I looked up the Reading game. 0-0 Vs Bournemouth. Div 2. Could still be playing now and it would still be goalless]
Don Carlos continues to work his magic at tha Albion, when he picked up the club from Steve Bruce we were rock bottom. 11 games and 9 wins later we are in the playoffs with the same players.
For all his success, you’d think that Klopp will be the highest profile scalp of the season?
Not a chance, i doubt any of them would do well if they lost about 4 of their first team every week, Chelsea are the same, and doing even worse.
This season is a bit like the one they had a couple of years back when they lost Van Dijk and a few others, the difference is Liverpool don't have cover for all positions, so are either playing half fit players, or having to drop their level in certain areas.
It's why i thought ManU would do well, they have a huge squad, and added to it, Man City always have the same, the rest are doing the same, not even sure how Chelsea are about to spend another £90 million when their biggest issue for me was losing Rudiger and Christensen, and Kante being injured, but they're so focused up top to fix things.
Hmmmm, I think it’s more serious than that argee - they’ve been playing their first choice midfield during recent games. The refusal to buy a midfielder and buying Gakpo instead tells me they’ve got Bellingham in the summer and will build a new team around him? If not I don’t get the Gakpo transfer when you have Salah, Dias, Nunez, Jota, Firmino….
Cletus - I do agree City have been run well. And probably the best side I’ve ever seen. But they do have a bottomless pit of cash, which only PSG and maybe Newcastle can match in terms of the salaries and transfers they can make (Haaland reported to be on £800k a week). And yes, they got off eventually but they were given a European ban for breaking financial fair play rules. No smoke without fire? I dunno.
Isn't management about ensuring you have a squad to deal with injuries? Were recent Liverpool teams not as strong as Southampton or Brighton? I'm not suggesting tat they replace Klopp, but he's struggling.
I find it a bit odd that they keep buying forwards, when the problem is clearly the midfield and the defence
Mind you, this is the first season in a long time where our transfer policy has actually made any sense instead of picking names randomly out of a hat
I doubt its helping that its obvious that the owners want out. Apparently ours do too now, but ask any United fan and they'd personally buy them first class tickets and drive them to the airport
And Liverpool destroyed them 5-0.
I remember that game, one of my favourite games of all time, probably.
Any predictions this afternoon then?
Palace have got to fancy their chances against Chelsea and I can’t see Spurs getting anything an Arsenal squad that are going to see Citeh’s loss yesterday as a massive opportunity to open that points gap even further
The Newcastle Fulham game should be a good’un!
Son trips over in the car park and the game starts with a penalty, or Odegaard gets sent off for shaking Kane's hand with intent 😂
Chelsea wise, if they don't get a shot on target second half i hear their chairman will buy another player for £100 million!
Probably a fair assessment 😂
Shall we have a sweep on the longest period of the game where Son and Kane both remain on their feet at the same time?
I’m going for 32 seconds
Optimist 😂
The Newcastle Fulham game should be a good’un!
Thanks Binners. It's not a stinker, but it's no classic either.
The kiss of death. Sorry.
How the hell it’s still 0-0 though? The Newcastle players don’t appear to have their shooting boots on today.
jeez, that's a weak one.
LOL, kicked it twice.
Absolutely bizarre
not having Sky i'm missing out on the Harry Kane Tumble Show.
what a goal to win it by Isak!
Lloris. Another howler!
As a Spurs fan, I think we will do well to get away with a 0-5 today. Lloris is having a shocker. Again.
That hit from Partey! Yes, only win winner so far. Definitely now, Odegaard.
Spurs might want to mark Saka?
Nobody is talking about them missing Jesus any more, are they? It looks like any player in an Arsenal shirt could score at any time
We’ve got Arsenal next week. On the strength of this performance I’d say it’s going to be a lot tougher than Citeh yesterday
Saka is causing absolute chaos down that wing.
If that missile from Partey had been an inch or two to the left, that would have been goal of the season taken care of
The diving from Spurs really is embarrassing for all involved
Højbjerg should have been carded for that pathetic rolling around
Yeah, was wondering what happened, then the replay showed a very embarrassing dive. Saw Kane earlier chatting to the ref after what was lucky to be a freekick for spurs, wish he'd cut that nonsense out.
If that missile from Partey had been an inch or two to the left, that would have been goal of the season taken care of
A superb strike. A solid 7.8 on the Yeboah index