matthew123

Rafa is going no where - it'd cheaper for the Yanks to miss CL qualification than sack the Manager. It's easy to blame Rafa, Babel, Yanks etc but bottom line is it's a team game and the likes of Steven Gerrard also need to take responsibility. A few friends of mine met up with Rafa and the players, at Liverpool Street's Great Eastern Hotel lobby, before boarding the bus to WHL yesterday - and having seen the photos they looked like they were all off to a holiday camp rather than to do battle.

Yes a blow but not an excuse for any sub par performances. I think a little too much is made of Alonso's departure - I put it down to lazy journalism rather than solutions.

I just hope Rafa Benitez starts picking the best possible Liverpool team. He has to revert to Gerrard alongside Mascherano in central midfield - and allow Yossi to link up behind Torres. This nonsense about two holding midfielders has to end - it is too reliant on Torres and Gerrard who yesterday were both below par. Ryan Babel looked a quality player against England in midweek but yet again for Liverpool he looks poor. I think after 2 years tied to the left wing enough is enough. Am I the only one who wonders why a right footed player is not given a chance on the right wing, or even as a striker instead of bringing on Voronin. Losing on the opening day is no big deal - it was the agricultural football, seen most of pre-season, that is most worrying.

Liverpool were diabolical first half. Lucky it was only 1-0 at half time. Second half they played much better and could have had a late penalty to equalize. Yossi looked total class. Torres was hopeless.

Man City more likely to be the new Chelsea than Newcastle Mark Hughes has certainly displayed a lot of arrogance this summer - money talks! I almost choked on my cornflakes when reading that Alex Ferguson, no doubt since Ronaldo's departure, has quickly jumped back onto his high horse with this horse shit - http://www.express.co.uk/posts/view/120886/Fergie-takes-on-the-cheats

Blinking 'eck whopping start that LG - need a big afternoon now from Torres to propel me into top half of table

It's a very difficult one as they may think they are already being considerate by doing it during office hours - and may not buy into a shift system of when they can practice especially as this is probably their own careers (musical) at stake. The successful approach will of course depend on the characters at play. I think it best you cut to the chase and tell them, as you say, you need your sleep because of shifts and that you are concerned about the level of daytime noise which has come to your attention whilst you have been studying... I think any lesser approach may not be respected.

Also got Drogba (9 pts) but Torres is my skipper - roll on that 8-0 prediction of yours :))

Now that Alonso has departed Liverpool it turns out that after all these years he was actually world class and the heart beat of the Liverpool team - of course whilst in a red shirt he was generally considered by the media as being similar pedigree to Gareth Barry. Alonso was a top player and they'll miss him for certain games (e.g. when Agger is not playing like tomorrow) but with the loss of Alonso is means you do get a bit more mobility going forward - the bigger blow for Liverpool is swapping Arbeloa for Glen Johnson not to mention a ?14m net loss. On paper Liverpool look weaker than last season (as do Man U and Arsenal), but the positive for Liverpool is that much less chopping and changing of players took place this summer compared with previous years, so they should click into gear sooner than usual.

I find it odd the EU has not clamped down on this cross promoting by Sky and EPSN for the new season. I thought the purpose of breaking up the PL rights was for the benefit of the consumer but instead the consumer is now being fleeced by having to pay an extra ?9 p/m to get the additional PL matches not shown on Sky. I know this shoddy carve up has being going on for 2 years under Setanta but now it seems Sky are working in cahoots with ESPN. How else can you explain ESPN having a HD channel on the Sky platform when it was previously denied Setanta which in my opinion was one of the main reasons Setanta did not have the customer base to survive with it's inferior standard definition broadcast.

For what position in table would that 2 horse race be ... as I fancy Chelsea to be competing for title :))

The answer Keef is for Referees to uphold the letter of the law by cracking down on this behaviour. The survival of good football is more important than that of any Club looking to bend the rules with unsporting tactics. We can talk about players having the right to choose which Clubs they want to play for and having freedom of movement but where does that fit into it when we allow the kind of football to develop that increasingly puts the careers of players in jeopardy as a result of strong-arm survival football?

Just had a cold call from Sky... and so there we have it I've now signed up to ESPN.. MY prediction is that Man City will deliver the goods and break into top 4. Sooner or later they'll click into gear as they do have a strong team - the forward play of Robinho, Tevez, Adebayor and SWP will be hard to stop. As for Champions it'll be between Liverpool and Chelsea.

I was walking past Kwik-Fit yesterday when a small van reversed out of Kwik-Fit at maximum speed onto the northbound lane and was about 1 metre from mowing down a stationary cyclist. I think it was a white van, maybe UHL or something, the young driver looked as shocked as anyone that he'd almost killed a woman. Possibly the worst driving I have ever witnessed.

Absolutely spot on Cowboy Evening of the new season, everyone level top, confidence yet to be dented, ahhh... It's the first set of August midweek fixtures that have always been my favourite though - the balmy summer evening under the floodlights is usually the real indication for me of the season ahead

Yes on the surface it seems unfair to name the 'professionals' involved - but are they likely to do a better job if they are made more accountable for their work? i.e. have them publicly named? If a Doctor is found incompetent it'll be in the news so why not anyone else whose incompetency fails to stop the path to death. There will always be excuses on everyside - but you can bet your bottom dollar that any 'professional' with an ounce of intelligence and skill will have cleaned the baby's face of chocolate when taking into account the case history. I suspect what it comes down to is that some of the people in these 'professional' jobs are in fact only amauters. Maybe it is time to increase pay to draw in better quality people for these important social roles because if they're paying peanuts maybe we shouldn't be that surprised. As for any criminals being named then obviously their jail sentence is inadequate if they require this further punishment. Instead of this hash of justice maybe it's time to reconsider a less expensive sentence for these killers.

Ladies and Gentlemen we are now less than 48 hours from ignition as the greatest show on earth is about to explode back into action - the Premiership. These are the 16 EDF Fantasy Football teams already registered and ready to rock come Saturday lunchtime! It's not too late to pick your own team if you're ready for the challenge, the passion, the glory, the pride, the joy... Do you think you have what it takes to pick a team of Champions, if so come and join us! [ This is a message brought to you by the Manager of the future Champions Thunderstruckers ] Thunderstruckers Lommers Legs cowboys Bayern Durchfall FC EAST HAM UNITED Real Maquids Athletico Underhill Longford Flykicker The Usual Suspects Hoop Dreams Ladygooners Manila Bhoys Nunhead Reds KDDDD Zinedine Sydenham The Plastic Scousers

the Vale - 4 big screens and plenty of seating

Not until Wenger started treating the League Cup with disdain did it start to go downhill - although it also struggled in it's first years back in the sixties. Now of course no one really cares about it til the semi final stage.

As a few have suggested, why don't the NHS / NHS Trusts sue these damn advertisers in America - as surely McDonald's et al wouldn't think twice if they were being slandered in the UK. Or even better why don't the NHS put out an 'advert' on Youtube comparing treatment in the UK with those that haven't got a bean living in the USA.. You can't imagine the French authorities letting it pass if it was them being kicked about like a political football so why should we!?

After seeing Glen Johnson last night I have to say I am still not convinced it is money well spent. He looks flat footed, and his positioning is suspect. Apart from having a good fitness record he seems a carbon copy of Philip Deggen, another right back, who Liverpool signed last summer on a free transfer. To sum it all up, last night he made Babel look like the second coming of John Barnes [which at least is promising!]. I have the same reservations about Johnson as I did when Liverpool signed Nigel Clough and Morientes - when you cut through all the media hype, is he a world beater? He might be an England international.. but for ?17m it makes Gareth Barry look like a major steal at ?12m. Most importantly though he is not in my FFL team ;-) 2 Days to go! So far 14 teams have joined the "EDF Super Liga" on the Barclays Premiership League fantasy football web site To create your fantasy team go to: http://fantasy.premierleague.com/ Once created join the "EDF Super Liga" The code to join League is 224056-57537 [ Suggest for identification you put your First Name and Last Name as EDF username & "edf" ]

Might be up for that Mick - I got Liverpool the next night so will have fitness test on day of match to whether I have the stamina to rip roar with laughter as I take your money off your hands and still be fit for Anfield :)) Btw, I'm gonna have to check the Betfair odds to see whether that offer needs to be amended ;-)

Only recently Ronnie Biggs, Great Train Robber, was released early as it was believed he was close to dying - then shortly afterwards his freedom was reported to have given him a new lease of life. Whether or not it will be a full recovery we will have to wait and see but it reminded me of Ernest Saunders a member of the 'Guiness Four' who was released early as suffering from Alzheimer's disease. On release Saunders made a swift recovery from "Alzheimer's" and subsequently took on the roles of Chairman and Consultant for various international firms. So, should this 'compassionate' back door to early release be kept open - or should we take the line that someone convicted of a serious crime (such as the 'terminally ill' Libyan convicted of the Lockerbie bombing) be kept behind bars with the same dispassion as the original crime(s) regardless of their state of health (real or manipulated)?

Babel looked impressive tonight for Holland, a real menace. He glided past the full back on countless occasions... my only concern is that it was ?17m Glen Johnson who he made to look out of his depth. Dirk Kuyt looked like a man who knows his way around the penalty box the way he scored the opening goal - so that was good and hopefully bodes well for Liverpool this season.

Ahhhh now that probably explains why you think Celtic is at the centre of the footballing universe :))