Consigliere

Always funny watching PSG lose.

This makes no fucking sense. So this guy is not competent to officiate Liverpool games but is competent to officiate everyone else's games?

Darren England will not officiate Liverpool for rest of the season - but won't be sacked

They need to release the audio. In rugby anyway, one of the first things established between the referee and the TMO is the on field decision. The VAR being unaware of the on field decision cannot be brushed off as innocent human error; it's gross negligence on the part of the VAR and referee. 

PGMOL has fostered a culture of mediocrity, complacency and no accountability. They just circle the wagons while the officials involved get a week or two off and any criticism from players/managers is met with fines and/or suspensions.

VAR should not be selected from the current refereeing pool imo. VAR teams should be independent of PGMOL and trained by the Premier League. Right now these refs are more concerned about protecting their mates.

Refs doing everything to help Spurs. A point would be an amazing result for Liverpool.

We are rubbish. Finishing 6th to 10th is on the cards. Top 4 is a pipe dream. Sancho might outlast EtH at this rate.

Would be best for us if we finish 3rd in our CL group. At least we would have a chance of winning the EL and getting into the CL that way.

Lisandro out for 2–3 months. Reguilon has also picked up a knock and won't be available until after the October internationals.

United release statement re: Antony.

https://www.manutd.com/en/news/detail/man-utd-release-official-statement-about-antony-returning-to-training

Quote

"Since allegations were first made in June, Antony has co-operated with police inquiries in both Brazil and the UK, and he continues to do so.

"As Antony’s employer, Manchester United has decided that he will resume training at Carrington, and be available for selection, while police inquiries proceed. This will be kept under review pending further developments in the case.

"As a club, we condemn acts of violence and abuse. We recognise the importance of safeguarding all those involved in this situation, and acknowledge the impact these allegations have on survivors of abuse."

I'm also in favour of not drawing lines. If, after watching replays, an offside cannot be definitively determined then the player did not gain an unfair advantage imo and the on field decision should stand. Armpit and kneecap offsides aren't in keeping with the spirit of the rule as far as I'm concerned. If we are going to go by the letter of the law, then the most accurate technology available should be used i.e. semi-automated offside tech which is far more accurate than an analyst drawing lines.

I think Eriksen can still be very useful as a sub and is effective at playing both 8 and 10. He still has the technical quality and game intelligence but not the legs anymore to play at the required intensity for the full 90.

I certainly hope that with Mount and Eriksen, Ten Hag rotates Bruno more. The guy is being run into the ground - he racked up over 6,000 minutes for club and country last season which is just ludicrous. Don't care how fit you are, the amount of minutes and intensity that Bruno plays at is bound to take a toll. Wouldn't be surprised if he ends up having a similar rapid decline like Kante. In fact FIFPro specifically cited Bruno's 6,600 minutes played in their report over concerns about player safety.

I think Casimiro has been doing just fine. There's been some idiots who think that he's some all action DM who flies into tackles. That's never been his game - in fact his tackling can be a bit dodgy. He's almost all about good reading of the game, positioning and interceptions. A much bigger concern is Eriksen - he was good last season but he's been struggling to come to terms with the new system this season which demands more pressing and off the ball work in general which was also an issue last season but not as much. Still too early to be definitive but we did look better with Amrabat in there - he's definitely not a better footballer than Eriksen; just has a bigger engine.

I think it's a combination of us struggling to adapt to a different system in addition to injuries. Last season Ten Hag adopted a more pragmatic approach and we played with deeper lines. This season Ten Hag wants the team to press more and higher up the pitch and moved our lines higher up to compress the pitch but that hasn't been working too well so far - the opposition is still playing through our high press fairly easily which is exposing our midfield and defence and leaving us vulnerable defensively.

Injuries have prevented us from selecting consistent line-ups to get the cohesion right especially in defence with long term injuries to Wan Bissaka, Shaw and Malacia. Then both Varane and Lisandro got injured against Arsenal with Varane returning last night while Lisandro played against Brighton and Bayern while not fully fit and aggravated the knock he picked up against Arsenal - no word yet how long he might be out for.

Of course the terrible handling of the Greenwood situation, the accusations against Antony and the Sancho situation has caused a media shitstorm which might be having a negative impact as well. I don't think Maguire can be lumped in there - he's not suited to the system Ten Hag wants to play but Maguire has always been a good professional. Can't see him causing issues in the dressing room.

Ajax's ultras have really wreaked havoc today. Ajax were getting a lesson in football from Feyenoord in their own backyard so the ultras started throwing flares on the pitch to get the match abandoned. Match was suspended then resumed only for the ultras to start throwing flares on the pitch again. Match was then abandoned. Riot police had to be deployed to the Johan Cruyff Arena.

ETA. Ajax have also just announced that Mislintat has been sacked. Steijn needs to go too - manager of Ajax is too big a job for him and he's clearly out of his depth.

8 minutes ago, Tywin et al. said:

His studs were up, but they weren't high and he did get to the ball first. I just think a red card has to be clear and obvious much like a flagrant 2 in basketball or a targeting foul in American football needs to be as well. Acts that are malicious or reckless, sure, hit them with the hardest in game penalty you can, but when its a bang bang play I tend to think the player should be warned, not ejected unless they seriously hurt the other player.

Anyways, this disastrous season continues. 

Ankle height is high enough. He touched the ball first but was very clearly not in control. He went studs up into the Villa player's ankle. The VAR was correct to tell the on field ref to go to the monitor and have another look and the on field ref was correct to deem that as serious foul play and send him off.

24 minutes ago, Tywin et al. said:

Chelsea down to ten men. I thought that should have been left as a yellow, but what do I know...

Had a look at the replay. Referees usually don't take too kindly to studs up challenges like that so not surprised a red card was given. Don't think the review panel will be inclined to overturn that either.

Newcastle are on the up and in contention for top 4 so broadcasters are selecting their games a bit more often for live broadcasts than when they were relegation battlers.

This Arsenal/Spurs is a really good game.

At least Spurs fans finally have something to smile about regardless of how this particular game ends. Their team is finally playing front foot, entertaining football which is good to watch rather than the dreary terrorist football under Mourinho and Conte, both of whom never made full use of Spurs' top quality front line.

West Ham deserve to be level at least on the balance of play. Really should've been 2-0 up before Salah's penalty.

Wrexham are finding League Two to be tougher going than the National league. The financial doping that gave them such an advantage in the National league is going to make less of a difference the higher up they go in the professional divisions with stricter FFP rules. Just another Salford City but with much better PR. Still expect them to make the play-offs at the very least since there isn't such a huge gulf in quality between League Two and the National League.

Looking like it's going to be a good win for Everton. Think Dyche has actually got Everton playing fairly decently so far all things considered. They certainly don't look like relegation fodder and would've had a few more points on the board if they weren't so wank in front of goal.

Had a look at our lineup. That's just tragic. I'm just gonna watch the Springboks take on Ireland rather than waste my evening watching United make Burnley look like prime Barca

Bruno extends his contract with Newcastle to 2028 with a release clause of around £100m.

Moyes is getting Moyes'd by TSC.