The9

It wouldn't make any sense at all to do that now either, everyone's going to be asking for stupid money with English-based players knowing there's a whole wodge more cash around - the market will be in buying better, slightly more established players from better European sides, because the entire Prem will be in the top 35 richest clubs in Europe after next season. Even Bournemouth.

Being in the CL for a Prem club is a convenient sideline cashwise as of next season, it'll allow the teams who are in it to have higher FFP thresholds for a bit, but the actual prize money is not that massive compared to the kind of money Man Utd are making anyway just from merchandising, unless you get to the quarter finals or beyond. Now add a baseline of about £60m more to the Prem figures above, and only about £15m more to the CL - and the CL is much more performance-based. You'll get £97m coming bottom of the Prem next season, you have to win the CL to get that much. The odd £30m here and there isn't that significant, when you look at the amounts ALL Prem teams will get to start with from next season: Here's Man U's money in 2014 and 2015:

Fair point there was "David Norris, nuff said". Well, no not really, ok it stops us bleating on about who won the last match between the two clubs but knowing we'd win anything at any point since takes the edge off that, not to mention that they still went down and we still went up. Nugent got a mention too, but he didn't even play for them against us. They just get bog-standard YSB chants if they play us. Of course the fact no-one could pick any of their players in the past 5 years out of a line up makes it difficult to particularly dislike any of them - and some of them have been so bad I actively liked them. Joe Devera for instance at centre back was so bad he singlehandedly kept them in League 2 for a couple of seasons with his 50p-head clearances, whilst Miles Storey since he left has taken his stupid-boots and socks combo Ronaldo-very-lite stepover game with no end product to Newport where he was actually ok, and now plays for Northampton who are walking the League Portsmouth think they have a right to win. But I still wouldn't know them if I saw them in the street.

Way more money in the Premier League and Boro will be happy to sign someone for nothing except wages with a bit of potential who's done well for them in the Championship.

Life's too short. I used to really hate Nick Barmby for no particular reason though. Isn't it nice that we barely have any players from the past decade? How about El Abd of Brighton for getting Lambert sent off at their new ground? Or Calderon, for being a dirty hoofball into the channels merchant in a team their manager had the front to claim played nice football whilst comparing us to Dagenham. Not a single Skate getting a mention so far, is there? We really should just forget about them altogether.

They're charging £20 at the moment, I have three of their tickets on my fridge for Saturday... But does anyone seriously think anyone is going to base that choice on price?

They won't be allowed to get rid of certain concessions.

What's a fallacy is to use examples from when two (or more) strikers were a thing so there was a chance to play someone who wasn't able to win the ball in the air without it being significant, the average height was lower, clubs weren't picking from the entire world's best players, and the general athleticism of all players was significantly less, meaning that there were often not a plethora of "bigger, stronger" options who could do the same thing as the "smaller, nippier" players. Even when Pahars played he had Beattie hulking around alongside him most of the time. Playing one up top doesn't usually lend itself to that "one" being a shortar5e. You need a player who can win the ball and keep it, and get into positions to score from crosses in the air OR on the ground, with the strength to hold off CBs and the touch and pace to get past them on the ground. Examples such as Barcelona with their midget false 9s a couple of seasons ago are exceptions - if there are two players with exact the same skillsets and one is bigger/stronger/taller, you'd take the one with more aerial presence. FWIW I thought Juanmi was no better or worse than anyone else on Saturday though.

If someone could get a "times dispossessed per game" stat for Yoshida I'd like to see it. Other than that, defensive stats are the art of preventing things happening and as such are an absolute nightmare to extrapolate into impact. Other than the one I've mentioned, which is the footballing equivalent of "unenforced errors".

Alderweireld is still the best CB to have ever played for Saints. He's also continuing to prove his ability on a regular basis for Spurs. Coincidentally the missus had a bet on him at 50/1 for next scorer on the weekend (I was on Betfair and he was only 35s so she put it on with Sky). It wasn't Clint Hill levels of awesomeness (65/1 and I had a tenner on that one), but 50/1 is not to be sniffed at. Van Dijk is a very good CB, Alderweireld was a completely different class.

He's gone to crap in the past 6 weeks along with the general drop off in their first choice starters around him, he was excellent for them before that.

Bournemouth went around us (and created nothing in open play) not through us. Plus what we needed was a DM who was able to pick an 'out' pass under pressure, and I'm fairly sure Wanyama is no better than Romeu at that. Strange time to suggest it when Sunderland's goal was from a defensive error in the box (I don't need to say who it was by, only that Yoshida was on the pitch and people will work it out) and the defensive midfield had kept them out for the rest of the match and weren't to blame for it.

And the ref still would have been wrong not to give a penalty.

I don't understand you saying it wasn't a penalty - even if Delaney had completely missed him the mere need to avoid a collision is sufficient grounds to give a penalty now. Anything careless, reckless or dangerous is a foul (with punishment of varying severity), contact isn't necessary. One of the biggest problems I have with the whole diving argument is that much of the time players do it because refs won't give fouls without the player falling flat on his face or rolling around or grabbing himself in the face. As soon as Delaney decided to slide he put himself in a position to concede the foul.

The contact was what caused him to fall down. Albeit because Benteke was planning on falling down anyway and that just gave him the opportunity, but the only error made was from Delaney by making the decision to slide anywhere near Benteke. And there was enough contact that he could have fallen over - he probably would have stumbled when trying to put his left foot down and fallen over, possibly backwards, a couple of steps later, in a way that looked so ridiculous a referee wouldn't have given it.

The left ankle was trapped, it was Benteke's left leg not taking the next step which caused him to fall over - it was both a penalty AND a yellow card for simulation.

Only for about 5 years already. Just as the ones who do have head injuries or blood get up immediately and try to hide it if their team is attacking.

The tv review would have shown that Delaney's right knee trapped Benteke's left foot. Of course Benteke ALSO dived because the referee wouldn't have seen it (and indeed let the linesman make the call), but tv replays would have given a penalty.

I don't see why people think they have a right to go to football matches - it's non-essential entertainment (and I say that as someone who probably goes to about 30-40 matches a year because I feel I have to - because I also didn't HAVE to do that some years when I was doing other things). The cheaper the tickets are, the more people will want to go, and the less likely those with lower incomes are to get tickets anyway because inevitably those with the most money will just go to more matches in the long run and either end up earning or directly pay for priority. If that kind of scheme doesn't exist, people just complain about ticket allocations. The argument is totally about people thinking they have some kind of entitlement. I'm in favour of loyalty discounts, but only in the sense that it should allow a fixed timescale for those people with proven loyalty to take up the offer before tickets are sold to someone else at the normal price. Clubs with empty grounds are the ones with ticket pricing problems, not the ones who just about sell out every game.

To be fair it'll probably take him another 10 years on the slippery slope until he ends up in Scotland.

How is it "sad", when the club is trying to maximise income without alienating the fanbase and that's what fans have shown they're prepared to pay?

I find it bizarre how excited people get when he's playing against players everyone knows he's supposed to be MUCH better than anyway.

Well he's had more impact on Man U in 3 matches than Rooney has all season, so I don't see why not.

Connor Wickham's in fantastic form, 2 goals in his last match.

If they can manage an exhibition of Newport County AFC memorabilia in Newport with their history of doing nothing much, they can sure as hell find stuff for a Southampton exhibition in Southampton.