Whitey Grandad

In the same game???

Maybe, but they'll be attacking it from the other dircection.

You're taking some time to get used to this upper Premier League/challenging in Europe business, aren't you?

Oh, absolutely.

The majority of the income is not from gate receipts, I thought. And don't forget that we have had rapid promotions over recent years so we have had to buy a Premier League team from nothing.

Theory 2: They're really, really happy at the club and are doing their best not to get a transfer.

Or the opposition's ball not getting into our net.

Money/greed or just covering their arses and keeping their options open. It's just a theory.

Home draw, okay by me

Good point. Could it be that we have a higher proportion of players who want a move away in January than other clubs.

It is now, and I don't think it can be bettered

What the hell is that racket going on in the background?

'Agile' always makes me think of this place in Montmartre: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lapin_Agile

What makes you say that? He's certainly not bad buy in the sense that Osvaldo was.

Long is a very useful player. I'm pleased to have him in our squad. At least he knows where the goal is.

Is that the assist for their corner where he ran out several yards and left a gaping channel for them to hammer the ball across goal to Lescott? As others have said, he may well develop into a great midfielder, it's just that he's some way off that at the moment and probably not what we need at the moment.

Who would you replace him with, another Shane Long?

And took their place in the League next season

Agile? I've just noticed that bit

Good to hear. (I despair to see that this thread has descended into an anti-Long rant)

So you think we're odds-on for relegation then?

We would get very little for £6m and then any new players would need to adapt to our systems. I don't think January signings ever really hit the ground running.

But we might be at home?

Too ponderous in my view. Solid and immovable in every sense of the word. That can be a good thing if others around him can take over the ball and start things moving with a crisp move and pass.

I've just watched MOTD2 and the assistant has definitely flagged Moreno offside on the far side of the pitch. You can tell by the way that he has signalled with his flag pointing upwards. It was a tight call but you can see that the Newcastle defender stops playing as soon as he sees the flag go up.