shurlock

Good lad. Mission accomplished.

Rodgers criticised Friend very publicly after Liverpool's draw with Bolton in the FA Cup. Wouldn't be surprised if Sunday wasn't partly a case of long memories.

Where was the real show? Instead, we got an hour of cutting-room floor filler in a self-serving attempt by Love Productions to portray itself as responsible film-makers who would have made a truthful, balanced and tantalisingly celebratory documentary if only it hadn't been thwarted by hysterical, bullying 'outsiders', whether other residents, the press or the liberal elite. In other words, nothing like Benefit Street's stitch up. Cross my heart and all that. Nice try, fellas. Already see there are mugs buying the spin.

Not satisfied with the answer you've got yet?

How about mongboard?

I'm not saying it is. Just saying that some have lost while others have gained from immigration, so for those affected most severely, it will matter a lot, even if the overall effects are benign. Parroting numbers (mean effects) which you don't seem to understand the limitations of doesn't help in this regard.

Surely having studied economics, you should know that such numbers can be extremely deceptive - that means such as GDP per capita smooth over how outcomes are distributed. Are they distributed tightly around the mean or are they spread out? With immigration, there are clear losers as well as winners, casting doubt on the wisdom of using simple per capita measures.

Read nothing into those numbers unless they control for where the shot is taken for which stats do exist. Ideally, you would also take into account how much pressure the striker faced/the difficulty of the shot attempted -both of which are more difficult to measure. Our defense has been so good that I wouldn't be surprised if we've faced more speculative shots than many other teams.

Mong is a different matter; but always felt that mongboard had an inclusive quality, that to refer to it while posting regularly on here invariably meant making fun of yourself - rather than simply using it to attack others.

Perhaps not but that CM partnership is one of the best in the league and the basis of our success. Continuity also matters. If both are leaving, at least, ensure that exits are staggered. When the dust settles, it'll probably be the case that our best players this season were the ones we kept hold of in the summer. I think as the season goes on, the difficulty of replacing players -mindful we've done pretty well in the transfer market- is becoming clearer.

More complicated than that. Aren't they interdependent, immigration also an economic issue, a pillar of our labour markets with consequence for wage levels for different groups. In turn, very few people care about the economy or economic growth in the abstract; rather they care about how rewards are distributed and effects on living standards or quality of life, the provision of public goods and the sustainability of it all. In one sense, you're just repeating the fallacies of the Blair years - that as long as the economy was growing, everything else would take care of itself. We now know that's false. So while immigration and globalisation may have grown the overall pie, it didn't mean that everyone gained from these processes - indeed some groups may have lost out. In subsequent years, those chickens have come home to roost.

If you go clean through the player after winning the ball, then you're skating on thin ice. If you take the ball then the player out at an angle, you're on much firmer ground. The angle is everything. Conditions matter hugely: you will always follow through when it's wet. The alternative -to say a player can't slide- is ridiculous and makes a further mockery of whatever competitive balance is supposed to exist between defenders and attackers.

Don't expect Carroll-type brutality or for him to iron out a CB but would like a bit more aggression from Pelle from crosses and in the final third. He's scored one header all season, IIRC. Surely, he's got to do better than that?

Like how Jermaine Jenas duly put Rodgers in his place for claiming that the 'system' had caused Coutinho's lottery-ticket winning goal. Even David Brent never sounded like he was delivering a Bakerian lecture on theoretical physics. Gallagher's comments particularly grated for some reason. Delighted for a Scouse win because they have a chance of keeping United out of the top four. Never, even crossed his mind that we might have a say in the matter. Blissfully complacent just like his music.

3-5-2? With who as LWB? No need to go with 3 CBs to take care of Sterling and their limited interest in attacking.

Thanks for this - couldn't get behind the paywall.

Just like LeTiss was saying nice things about Lallana?

Are you suggesting that he harboured some personal grudge towards the board? In which case, I think you're overthinking things. I remember the Lallana exchange on Twitter which had two elements - one in which he was factually reporting what he had been told; the other in which he interpreted what he had been told. The latter was balanced by qualifications and 'on the one hand and on the other hands'. If there was bias, that possibly owed more to the close relationship Blackmore had with Lallana, as a local lad and longstanding club servant, not a general position against the club. To the extent journos are asked to stay out of the interpretation game and not play God but instead stick to their sources, it's natural that if only one side is willing to talk, that will be reported more. There was nothing to stop the club talking to Blackmore and am sure he would have welcomed it. Another scoop can only be good for the gravytrain. The club decided to play its cards close to its chest and that was its prerogative. But let's not pretend it maintained a wall of silence. In this regard, perhaps the club's media strategy could have been handled better. Instead of leaking stories to selected national papers about transfer warchests and alike, perhaps it should have worked more closely with Blackmore and other local journos. He might not have the the national reach or the same bang for the buck, but neither are we a national club; and it seems that voices like his are the starting point for a lot of Saints supporters news.

You're taking things far too personally. "Completely against our board" - what does that even mean? He's been pretty balanced but will always talk to those who are willing to talk to him - that's how journos survive. When the board did finally talk in late July/early August, he was the only one asking real, granular questions (re. Fonte and Cork) that the national press would never do.

Not sure he's suffering from a horrific loss of form as someone says. After all, most of his assists have come in recent games, though almost always against defences with ludicrously and porously high lines. What I do see is the same JWP, the same strengths and weaknesses, I've seen for several seasons. Frankly, at the moment, I'm more excited by the progress of Targett and Reed. For someone with his set of skills, he needs to look up more, take greater risks with his passes and be more committed with his movement off the ball. Instead, he wants to receive the ball like a holding midfielder, though with out many of the other qualities that go with the position.

Was right next to the first box in block 3 that had to be emptied in and the main source of trouble. Remarked to someone before the game that they were scousers by the way they were trying to pass off snooker waist-coats as bespoke suits. To be clear, there were only two Asians in what was a full box and they were pretty quiet (one tried to sneak back out afterwards to watch the game). All the aggro came from one charlie adam lookalike which then amusingly flared up as some of our lot tried to climb into their box, dishing out some Hampshire just deserts.

Really? Other than when he was subbed, I thought the reception was pretty muted (nothing like Lovren's up at Anfield). Not surprising as they had so little of the ball and he saw so little of it. Strange atmosphere all-round, influenced by the early goal, the rain and Liverpool's unwillingness to go toe to toe with us. The scousers were also very quiet and didn't really pipe up till the late in the game with the second goal.

Along with his comments about Friend's performance, he really is a shameless nob.

Completely agree. Yes we can all point to our attacking failings over the past few games. But 90 mins doesn't turn on the past. Even on the break and the terms of their own game plan, Liverpool looked poor and rarely a threat themselves, so fine margins were always going to matter. And Friend and the linos decisions decisively tipped those.

Pushed off the bus?