John Boy Saint

Bit tough getting into the Liverpool squad when Salah - Mane - Bobby the teeth are ahead of you as first choice then the Ox comes in well versed in Premier League football. If he is like Yoshida was for us, in that he would come in and be notably ring rusty then vanish to the bench more often than not as soon has the player he had covered for had recovered, due to Mayas odd lapse through lack of games. Given a steady run Yoshida would get better and better. A few players can be likewise without a steady run for 90 mins each week. If you are that type of player at Liverpool, with their embarrassment of riches across the pitch and hungry nippers, then it is a tough gig “to get on stage”. Lukewarm performance due to rustiness and you are back on the bench for weeks and the odd cameo where you just ain’t doing much. Klopp obviously saw something to have gone for him (that said he did weirdly go after Caulder a matter of weeks after he had seen him as part of a defence his team rattled 6 past and said player was the stand out cause of our car crash). Given our issues with Theo broken, Djenepo likely to snap at any moment, Armstrong fading in games - Redmond probably in that fragile category too. Minamino is a good fit across the pitch in those positions, helps us out, and helps Liverpool out as their man most likely gets game time, they can reassess him for their future needs, and if he sparkles with us they can recoup their initial outlay if they choose to unload. Only time will tell, just got to hope he comes in like Theo did and slot straight in, and not like KWP who looked like a fish up a tree first outings. As last day of the window goes - most of us have seen he can play and score - so that’s a plus if you factor in the £20m absolute cock up that we ended up just giving away eventually.

He was in a TV ad with his Dad around Christmas time, I immediately thought he was round John Salakos every couple of weeks for a dip in his fountain of youth as he looked like a nipper still himself - 18 year old son!? Jeez!

I would have thought given that they are all bubbled up and having a kiss and a cuddle after scoring (despite being told not to) the facilities would be good to use.

Whilst watching that yesterday, took me back to our game when the commentator said where would Leicester be without Vardy (I mentioned in a thread same place we are without Ings) - you could see yesterday Leeds weren't having to keep half an eye out for Albert Steptoes love child lurking to pounce at any given moment on any loose ball.

A cynic would say that was PGMOL “apologising” for the Man City fiasco. it is what it is. we are creating chances just seem to be so wasteful with them - this Weekend Midweek championship style game frequency is costing us no chance of recovery especially as we can’t use the kit at Staplewood.

Have word with yourself - if someone is crossing his palm with a wheelbarrow full of gold - then he is walking - if no one is tempting or in for him you stay exactly where you are and wait to get sacked and have your contract paid up. AvB sacked by Chelsea £16m pay off of contract - got the Spurs gig not long after, got binned £16m pay of of contract. Ralph signed 4 years? In June he ain’t just walking because no money to spend unless he has rocks in his head!

Just watching the analysis the ball has already left the foot when the line is drawn. Jeez

Mike dean doesn’t check offside it’s VAR limo only

YOU CANT UNDERMINE DEAN................that’s why

That is sad news. Most with recall back to the Lawrie Mac days will know him as assistant manager. Hampshire chap too. Always seemed a quiet man, was well respected by his peers in the game. Think the last time I saw him was walking into St Marys alongside Bobby Charlton their chat seemed to be a full catch up carrying on from where they had arrived in the same car. RIP

Just like anyone trying to do everything because they are good at it no one ever notices because they are use to it having been done already. Even last night when an attack broke down he was outside the Arsenal box, but then suddenly appears between or behind Jan and Jack as if he has been there all along. I've noted that of him in a few games where he is on one side of the pitch then almost in the blink of an eye he is over on the other side of the pitch breaking up play. I think if he gets broken everyone will realise what he does in games, because a big black hole will appear in midfield.

Think Ralph’s comment about not filling the gap between the centre back and full back, the cause, Jan and Jack spent time looking out for the green players on the outside of them, when you have Kyle and Ryan out there the 2 in the middle know pretty much where the outer 2 are and their capabilities. With Valery and Vokins you had 2 youngsters holding a box of matches each, in Valerys case one of those big cooks boxes: looking at him tonight it’s hard to believe it’s the same player who showed no respect to Paul Pogba at OT and rifled in a cracker of a goal. He doesn’t seem to believe in himself, which is a shame, “Im going to try this, hope it works” “blimey it did work how about that” “bugger while I was thinking how good that was the ball has gone”. At the end of the day we are playing Championship weekend, midweek football, our style of play does not fit that frequency of games, especially with a squad so paper thin due to injuries. Game pretty much summed up by Pepes goal, for weeks the bloke has been spraying chances everywhere except at the goal, tonight he gets a chance and pretty much mis kicks the ball past Alex into the net. Bizarrely I feel a bit “ah well, hey-ho” about the result.

What a car crash

Friend is bloody shite in the middle tonight

Absolute rip snorting smoker!!

Ah well good fight from Wycombe - 2 in 2 minutes flatter Spurs - Jose had to dip into the big guns on the bench that he was hoping to keep fresh for Thursday.

😂.....not forgetting the Police Chief walking behind the goal while his accompanying Copper read the mood was full of the Devil, and wisely walked across the penalty box grinning, as the air filled with little milk cartons that had been opened. The bulk missed a direct hit but hit the net bounced back spraying milk everywhere, poor sods on the front rows of the Milton behind the goal, Police Chief took it in good humour as he was smiling despite a milk splattered raincoat. Never get away with such jolly japes these days with wall to wall CCTV 😆🤣😂

There was a run of games where whenever he turned up with his cheery smile and wave to the crowd, we would bloody lose, you would see him either in the car park, or worst still down by the “tunnel” just before kick off and go “oh no that bloody Ken is here - won’t be winning this afternoon!”.

First thing that popped into my head tenuously related was 1978 promotion season, the match day sponsor if they had a give away would have a load of promotions girls (a bit like the Formula one, Marlboro girls and Grid Girls before it became seen to be politically incorrect) come out at half time and throw freebies into the crowd, bags of crisps and the like. One Saturday a record shop in town was the match sponsor, half time out came the girls and started throwing free 7” 45 singles into the crowd the only issue was no one had carried out a practice run and failed to tape the sleeve opening! First few were being tossed nicely to the front of the Milton Road end. Pleading hands were waving in the air further back, so the ladies started throwing them further, trouble was the records mid flight were departing the sleeves and the hopeful recipients were suddenly diving and cowering out of the way of 7” vinyl discs coming straight towards them at some speed. Little cartons of Unigate Milk a couple of years later in the Milk (League) Cup can wait for another day. 😉

Bloke is still a waste of talent...........pretty much stealing a wage just about everywhere he has been.

How much did Chelsea pay for Kepa? Wow the bloke looked like he was made of........Snow!

Ever since reading his Programme notes when he was manager at Watford and we beat them at Vicarage road en route back to the Premier League, I’ve liked Sean Dyche, his footie is a bit rough around the edges, but it’s done the job. I had hoped it would be us breaking the run - but for the least glamorous side and their decent chap of a manger to pull the rabbit out of the hat, fair play to them.

Think that's what Shane Long has been basing his game on for the last 3 seasons and beyond...........just forgets not to go to the ball until the oppo player has played it ;-)

That just made me think of a preseason game I went to in Catalunya between Pochettinos team at the time Espanyol and the local team Palafrugell who were 7 leagues below the La Liga side. Despite being an early pre season friendly the locals had their tails up and were giving Espanyol a proper game. Probably helped by Poch putting out a mainly second string, they were being led a merry dance blushes saved only by their keeper. The sports ground was packed with Espanyol fans who had made the hour and a bit drive up from Barcelona, their grumbling was quite amusing to our little cluster of Saints, Leeds, Swansea, Ajax, Twente, fans who had exited the campsite on "lads night out". When the minnows scored Poch sent the big guns to start warming up early on a side pitch, losing to a team residing 7 divisions below from a Catalan independence heartland would be a career threatening event. Second half the Espanyol 1st team took to the pitch and whilst looking a little better only just squeezed a 2-1 win. On a sad note a couple of weeks later Daniel Jarque one club man at Espanyol and recently appointed captain had a fatal heart attack at the age of 26 in his pre season hotel room. Looking at the Real Madrid game, they had a side like ours v Shrewsbury a peppering of front line first team players. Alcoyano are pretty much a Shrewsbury except where we have 4 professional leagues, in Spain its a bit nuts La Liga is the top of the tree, the Segunda division (=Championship) then you get into Segunda Division B (semi professional) which is split up like the old Division 3 North and South was here, except its made up of 102 teams split into 5 groups! These leagues have a sprinkling of La Liga and Segunda division B teams in them, each team must have a minimum of 10 players on a professional contract and a maximum of 22 players. Like all football we all know little of other countries leagues beyond the headline top flight. This Segunda B league make up just shows how big football in Spain is, beyond that and still taken seriously is the Tercera Division, 360 teams split into 18 regional leagues all chasing promotion into the semi professional Segunda B league. The set up, especially the pitch conditions even at the Tercera level are exceptional, they make places like Bashley look like they are playing on a prehistoric bog by comparison. Lunchtime reading intermission over.

I just liked the fact that we kept him awake with a couple of lukewarm back passes, that quickened the pulse. :-)