Graffito

I wasn't expecting you to answer the question. I wasn't disputing the facts. No emotion at all. We all know there's a bigger picture, as you've acknowledged subsequently.

Have Liverpool made a better job of replacing the irreplaceable than Tottenham did of replacing Bale? In any case, and no offence intended, I think your comments are disingenuous, as are Rogers'.

Just like he didn't have to sell Suarez.

A 0-0 would be good. Lambert off the bench to bully Yoshida in the air and head a late one worries me.

This is possibly true but he could always have answered it with a straight bat "I can't discuss other club's players". This is more or less what Lambert has said about someone put to him as a Villa target. That's fine by Lambert, until he does what Koeman has done. It's quite prevalent.

Predictions are a mugs game but after I saw Palace at SMS last season I said they're going down because they lacked quality. Whatever, we think of Pulis at Stoke, he did an amazing job of keeping Palace up. Not sure he'll end up at West Ham though. Although getting to Stratford as a PL club is vital to them, Pulis is kind of in the Fat Sam mould and if Allardyce fails, I don't see them replacing like with like. That's probably another mug prediction.....but it's only West Ham so who cares.

Dembele stood out for me last season as well but I think Saints need midfield players that can run from deep beyond Pelle and that's not Dembele.

May be stating the obvious but anyway, this would be signing a player that will complement the team and how RK wants it to play rather than sourcing an individual that may be technically better but less likely to fit. £12m is bonkers though.

As long as someone sticks one on Lovren I don't care what the score is.

A variant of the much more common affliction of cranium posterium.

The missing link.

I remember the result and the fences being ripped up but little of the match. The fences were very flimsy. Coincidentally a couple of articles in the Observer today about the "golden age" of football in the seventies. http://www.theguardian.com/football/2014/aug/10/were-seventies-footballs-golden-age-of-innocence-book http://www.theguardian.com/football/2014/aug/10/footballs-glory-days-in-pictures

‘When I use a word,’ Humpty Dumpty said, in rather a scornful tone, ‘it means just what I choose it to mean — neither more nor less.’ ‘The question is,’ said Alice, ‘whether you can make words mean so many different things.’ ‘The question is,’ said Humpty Dumpty, ‘which is to be master — that’s all.’ Alice was too much puzzled to say anything; so after a minute Humpty Dumpty began again. ‘They’ve a temper, some of them — particularly verbs: they’re the proudest — adjectives you can do anything with, but not verbs — however, I can manage the whole lot of them! Impenetrability! That’s what I say!’ ‘Would you tell me please,’ said Alice, ‘what that means?’ ‘Now you talk like a reasonable child,’ said Humpty Dumpty, looking very much pleased. ‘I meant by “impenetrability” that we’ve had enough of that subject, and it would be just as well if you’d mention what you mean to do next, as I suppose you don’t mean to stop here all the rest of your life.’

Careful with the two bob moniker. It's a term of abuse where I live.

Gab artists. Lounge lizards. You could be describing posters on football forums.

I didn't go but I believe Ralph may have been there.

“One of the big things was to stop the investments from Katharina,” Krueger says. “When she sees 30,000 people having pleasure watching the team perform it makes her happy in the memory of why her father [Markus] invested in the first place. "You can see her father is alive in this building for her. The club is not for sale.” Positive. She has an emotional attachment to the club. So do I. Stability.

Weight of expectation which is off the scale compared with what he's experienced before. It does strange things to people. It would have been better for Lambert if Liverpool had signed a Suarez replacement and he could have eased himself into contention without the same pressure.

The blogs are very informative. Thank you for posting the link.

I bet that was too good to resist. I'd have done the same.

That's just plain silly. Don't even know why I'm bothering to rep

I'm staggered and not a little impressed (even) at the knowledge some posters have of other teams players. I mean, I saw Villa a bit on MoTD and home and away live in the league against Saints, and was quite impressed with Betrand, but apparently he was actually crap at Villa. What do I know. Perhaps I should trade the ST for a Sky bundle and get some proper opinions.

You get the picture though.

Quality not price. What's your assessment?

It's a strange one but yes even Heineken barrels. Thanks for insights to Dutch football by the way.