shurlock

And you think the ref waves things away if Stephens does the same to Silva at the other end of the pitch.

Robbie Earle calling out the double standards by refs.

Stephens with a rush of blood to the head.

Looked like a carbon copy of Salah’s.

No chance.

Sorry I meant Lemina.

Mo was also there pal.

Still brings a tear to my eye: the half empty SMS, the guitar instrumental and the trademark dance. #legend

What do you think of John Humphrys Les? I know you were berating him for his disgusting anti-Brexit bias the other week but wonder if you still hold that view?

Good lad.

The piece is full of holes - hard to believe it’s written by an acting civil servant who are usually more tempered in their language and rarely single out political sides. Wouldn’t be surprised if it’s written by a spad. Worth pointing out that it’s Brexiters who’ve primarily attacked the civil service ‘deep state’. In their twisted little universe, the civil service has done everything it can to frustrate Brexit -from cooking the numbers to stalling preparation for a no deal so as to weaken the UK’s negotiating hand. I’ve no seen ‘remainers’ attack the civil service in nearly as vicious terms. Quite the opposite. There is, however, an acknowledgment that WTO terms provide little continuity for the UK economy, so whatever precautions are taken will be inherently limited and that the effectiveness of the UK’s contingency planning depends to a large extent on others’ actions out of its control and this simple reality could make no deal very messy regardless of the civil service’s best efforts.

Not sure what your point is Les. There are more or less orderly ways to leave the EU. Reverting to the WTO terms without a transitional deal; uncertainty around bilateral agreements that underpin even the most bareboned trading relationships and ad hoc, necessarily imperfect preparations are pretty much the definition of crashing out pal.

Sounds like he's going to start, esp as he would come in for Valery who struggled on Wednesday night.

No complaints about taking precautions, however incomplete or poorly designed they are (in this case, it seems that normal tendering processes have gone out of the window). But they are measures nonetheless that impose additional costs and would be unnecessary under most circumstances.

So as CB Fry says we need emergency ferries even though project fear is a complete crock. And as Jonnyboy points out we’re handing out most of the money to European businesses. Never mind that the extra services are equivalent to only about 10% of the traffic that crosses the Dover Strait. And cretins are celebrating this as good news?

Good lad.

Armstrong pressed but didn’t provide the wingback/fullback much cover. That’s what happens when you tuck Armstrong and Redmond inside -whether it is to get them closer to Ings or cut off the passing lanes through the middle of the pitch (and in principle squeeze play to the touch lines where the team in possession has fewer options). In short, Wham handily exposed the limitations of RH’s system.

Bet3.65 are the worst. Fair play for digging in.

It was a feature throughout the game; not just their second goal. Arsenal didnt expose it because they dont have much pace out wide. Sterling and Sane certainly will.

Thats a byproduct of RH's system. With Redmond and Armstrong tucked inside, it leaves plenty of space down the flanks. It puts additional pressure on the central midfielders to cover sideways across the pitch. Lemina can do it but lacks the discipline. Romeu has the football brain but not the mobility. PEH, whatever his faults on the ball, does that job well and was a miss tonight.

Wham second XI deserved the win. Hopefully the loss serves as a useful reality check. RH has improved us but he has ultimately inherited a squad short of genuine quality. In the short term, we need PEH, Cedric and Bertrand back to solidify things. Romeu was good on the ball but easily overrun; Lemina was his usual undisciplined self and Valery looked out of his depth. Longer term we are crying out for more pace and more creativity. Long cant be our first option off the bench when chasing the game.

Thought Vestergaard was pretty poor.

Which genius on here said that Antonio was L1, lower championship standard at best?

Elyounoussi never played under Pellegrino. Also a bit much to talk about a player having their game beaten out of them in only a few months.