January Football: This Time It's 2024ier

[Jimmy Floyd]

Professional football is a contract between super-talented players and the people who pay them. Traditionally it was the locally generated fanbase that paid their wages. In more recent times it has been the television viewer that did so, and VAR was brought in to sate that television viewer. I think we are rapidly moving into another separate era in which the fundamental contract of football is not between player and crowd, nor between player and TV viewer, but between player and Saudi Arabia, or player and City Football Group, or player and US venture capital. In that context, why do you need VAR? Data analysts will tell you that refereeing decisions make no difference to the outcome of a season, and the VAR process only reflects a culture of objective human scrutiny that these organisations reject. It will go and be replaced by sensors, robots and automation.

[Waffdon]

Villas Boas was streets ahead of this clown.

5 semis final losses in a row for him. Somehow lost out on a league title with PSG. A serial loser. And his jewellery is worse than De Zerbi’s haircut

[niko_cee]

De Zerbi's haircut is dubious.

[Jimmy Floyd]

You're being far too impatient. This season and next are a write off, he has us above where we should be and still could win a cup. Third year I'd expect to see the dividends. But hey, I'd have stuck with Potter for three to five years.

[Waffdon]

Even if he stays in charge and stutters past ‘Boro in the home leg he’s going to rock up to Wembley with a Silva-Disasi back 2 with Salah running at Colwill and have the worst final defeat in the history of the stadium.

[Waffdon]

Pochettino also made Messi look like a goat herder

[thommo]

Even if he stays in charge and stutters past ‘Boro in the home leg he’s going to rock up to Wembley with a Silva-Disasi back 2 with Salah running at Colwill and have the worst final defeat in the history of the stadium.

Can't believe we're being written off like this.

[Jimmy Floyd]

Apologies. Steve Marlet to fire home the winner, open top bus parade down Barnes high street, Bobby Moore statue at Wembley to be pulled down and replaced by one of Johnny Haynes and Mohamed Fayed arm-in-arm.

[Kikó]

Happy for Micheal Carrick doing such a good job. Hopefully we can ruin him as united manager one day.

[thommo]

Apologies. Steve Marlet to fire home the winner, open top bus parade down Barnes high street, Bobby Moore statue at Wembley to be pulled down and replaced by one of Johnny Haynes and Mohamed Fayed arm-in-arm.

Although you can leave the Moore one up alongside the new statue, he played for us in our only domestic cup final appearance.

[Gray Fox]

Why in god's name is flappy hands in goal for this one. Fulham with a great chance now.

[Waffdon]

Did Fulham play like this when they scored 3 here the other week?

[Sir Andy Mahowry]

Van Dijk

[Waffdon]

Well, defending like that certainly shows how they scored 3. Willian

[Gray Fox]

Why in god's name is flappy hands in goal for this one. Fulham with a great chance now.

Adrian or someone else please.

[Waffdon]

This Liverpool midfield is beyond dogshit which makes it even more annoying for their inevitable 2nd half flurry of goals

[Gray Fox]

Who exactly is going to be creating those goals?

We've given Fulham the chance to dig in here and they will. I don't this this lineup can break them down. All of the crosses are too floaty and Harvey is just not a right winger of any kind.

[Shindig]

Man, if we held out against Chelsea (we were battered so losing was the right result) we'd be favourites to win this. C'est la vie.

[niko_cee]

All of the crosses are too floaty and Harvey is just not a right winger of any kind.

Yeah. I know they've been banging on about this being his time to shine or whatever, but he always looks so much more adept in the midfield 3. Macca is also rubbish at and completely wasted as 'a six'.

[Waffdon]

The referee is such a weirdo for forcing the physios on there to make Pereira go off for 30 seconds

[Waffdon]

Who exactly is going to be creating those goals?

We've given Fulham the chance to dig in here and they will. I don't this this lineup can break them down. All of the crosses are too floaty and Harvey is just not a right winger of any kind.

You’ve played shit 60% of the season and are in the position you are. It’ll just happen.

[Gray Fox]

I'm not sure why we're all out attack here when there's a 2nd leg.

[Waffdon]

Decordova-Reid is having a mare here. Twice he’s not crossed it first time to someone alone in the box and then also had a horrific first touch to go one on one

[Waffdon]

How do these cunts keep getting away with it.

Arsenal were like this but grinding results out before being fully found out recently. Surely the same has to come for these.

[Sir Andy Mahowry]

Fuck off.

[Waffdon]

This Liverpool midfield is beyond dogshit which makes it even more annoying for their inevitable 2nd half flurry of goals

Far too obvious.

[Luke Emia]

How do these cunts keep getting away with it.

Arsenal were like this but grinding results out before being fully found out recently. Surely the same has to come for these.

I think the difference is that we aside from Salah have 4 forwards who there isn’t much to choose between. The two who don’t start can make a big difference in every game. Same goes for the midfield as well.

With the caveat we could still fuck this.

[Luke Emia]

That Nunez free-kick is the most Nunez thing I’ve ever seen.

[Waffdon]

that Harry Wilson cameo was pathetic

[Gray Fox]

Nunez changing the game from the bench again. I really hope Dirty Dom and Alisson are back for the 2nd leg.

[Waffdon]

The Curtis Jones fluke changed the game if anything

[niko_cee]

Marco Silva is slowly but surely turning into Nicolas Sarkozy.

[Don]

Nunez and Gakpo off the bench and these virgins are wondering why we keep winning games

[thommo]

Yeah Nunez didn't really do anything apart from miss a sitter.

So exasperating, if that deflected goal doesn't happen we probably hold on. As it is, it goes in and we mentally fall apart. Keeping it to 2-1 is a small victory considering the final 20 minutes.

[Don]

Yeah Nunez didn't really do anything apart from miss a sitter.

[thommo]

Am I wrong? The cross into the box for the 2nd goal would be completed by anyone on the pitch. And before the deflected goal he had not impacted the game one jot.

[niko_cee]

Willian goes down 10 times out of 10 in VARland for the first goal.

[Gray Fox]

Nunez now with more assists than any Liverpool player this season.

11 days to the next game and hopefully let's one or two get back healthy.

[Manc]

Sky securing the AFCON rights at the eleventh hour. Lovely jubbly.

[Don]

Am I wrong? The cross into the box for the 2nd goal would be completed by anyone on the pitch. And before the deflected goal he had not impacted the game one jot.

Your own attacker (Bobby, was it?) shooting at Kelleher from an angle when the simple cross was on would beg to differ. The assist wasn't that easy and his general movement and dribbling got him a big xA too.

Sky securing the AFCON rights at the eleventh hour. Lovely jubbly.

Loved the pre-tourney hype of these useless cunts dying off within about 2.5 dire games last time round

[Jimmy Floyd]

All aboard Avram Grant's Zambia, with a first choice keeper named Toaster Nsabata.

[John Arne]

[Kikó]

https://www.bbc.com/sport/football/67942943 Sven

[Yevrah]

Sad, but what a life he's had.

[John Arne]

I look forward to seeing him in the brothels of Saigon very soon.

But yeah, cancer is a cunt.

[niko_cee]

Sad, but what a life he's had.

I was thinking the same. Nailing Ulrika Jonsson whilst having it away with your deepthroat specialist secretary at FA Towers, and whatever Nancy was [wife?] as well.

[Jimmy Floyd]

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/africa/67944871

The goat tournament. In every sense.

[Yevrah]

I have nightmares where I'm on an intercontinental flight in Sub-Saharan Africa.

[niko_cee]

There's a problem with the plane but I'm sure it'll sort itself out once you're in the air.

[Jimmy Floyd]

The fact that the government then asked them to fly on the same plane again was the best bit.