david in sweden

The day we replace Pelle MAY be a long way off yet. Don't forget it took Rickie Lambert time to improve his game after he cam eto Saints....and he continued to improve. The one thing these two have in common is that thye have spent most of their playing time .at a lower level than the Prem. but have learned alot along the way. Pelle has now become a genuine threat to many Prem. sides and his presence causes a lot of problems for them. As for his replacement?......a lot of us would like to think it would be Jay Rod who will have had a goodly number of Prem.games under his belt by then, and may be his successor. Whatever the outcome ...IMO opinion it ought to be another tough, 6 foot-plusser who can hold his own up top, and get goals and make assists. Howveerr, there may still be another surprise ( type Pelle) lurking in the European leagues, and surprise us all .

every manager experiments with players / formations and a quick look at the Championship table will tell you that the 'boro manger is doing something right.... ......so he's not going to change a side with such a good starting line-up just to give Stephens a run-out for our sakes. ....If Stephens continues to impress and get a bench place - his time will come in the event of injuries /suspensions to the regular CB....

apart from NOT scoring for some time, I think he's been fairly consistant for quite a while, but a lot of people just haven't noticed.....

fun! 'though that bit might be difficult ....he never did qualify for England - did he ?

..seem to recall that's what people said after we parted company with Lambert..and Lallana...and Shaw..and Lovren (No! forget I said that - it wasn't difficult at all ). but in general ...it hasn't worked out too badly so far....has it ?

after the way .." 'Arry " quandered their money, there must be few clubs who had a bigger wage bill than QPR.....

....with his record, there are few managers who can turn L'pool around in the short term......but can't you see the headlines after his first big DEFEAT .... Jurgen Flopp !

Gareth Rodgers pointed out in his comments (about commercial activity) that you can't bring in a new sponsor - whilst you have an existing contract with another. ....and that you don't sell a deal like that with one conversation. Big organisations look for " Corporate Responsibilty " in the organisations they get involved with, and bad press or irregularities reflect back on them (as sponsors). Just look at the pressure put on FIFA by big name sponsors (because of the Blatter / Platini scandal)... they have a big say in the matter. There may be bigger things in the pipeline for Saaints, and eventual new deals may not be seen for a year or two more. You can't just ditch a sponsor - it's bad practice. Just like having a player such as (Gaston) on a long contract and a big salary ...you have to stick it out to the bitter end. We probably do have sponsors who got a "cheap deal " to get their names seen at SMS, but it will be more expensive for them to stay with the pack in the future - if we have bigger fish on the hook.

.....not nearly as annoying as the last one....

it had to happen .....Steven Davis scores......N.I. lead 1-0

good solution all round. After all... MU don't mind spending that sort of money on players, they'd hardly miss it, and it'll give our transfer kitty a real £ boost. On the other hand ....it would be a real compliment to SFC if he was happy to stay.

......certainly a better investment than paying some over-priced " superstars " enormous salaries..... to sit on the bench. This way ....the whole team benefits.

the truth hurts sometimes, but they can console themselves knowing that the £13 million they received buys a lot more in SPL than it does in England.

Liverpool like MU, MC and Chesea..who can virtually buy whoever they want and pay big salaries, it has to be down to the formation the manager favours when buying-in new faces. I recall that some people criticised Strachan who never seemed to have a Plan B, and most of the time favoured only one system. Nowadays there are teams who play 4-4-2...4-3-3, and now we even have 3-5-2 being used by some others. Replacing a manager and hiring one who favours an alternative formation could be curtains for those players who are unable to adapt, or can't fit the pattern. IMO Rodgers biggest mistake was signing too many young players and not having enough " old heads " left to help them to adapt / integrate into the team. Losing; Carragher, Agger and Gerrard (amongst others) in a short space of years made it hard to find suitable replacements. Saints' big question will be; WHO will become the next Jose Fonte when his playing days are fast slipping away. Most of the others have been satisfactorily replaced, but he is the last of the " Big Six " players who played through L1 and up into the Prem. We had the time to improve and everyone was pleased with our successes and gradual progress. Liverpool's Board will demand a CL place ...EVERY season. Maybe our system works best because we have a manager who approves a list of " possibles " who fit the bill, and we buy who we know we can afford.

a good sign perhaps, but he'll need to be a bit more subtle when he does, because he's picked up 3 yellow cards already.

I wasn't so much looking at their ages, but the manner in which they came up through Non-League sides.....and played below Prem. in their early careers. Lambert and Austin both had spells at a level - even below Championship - when they started out, and didn't have the " benefit " of an Academy background either.

saw that Brendan had packed his bag and got on a plane to Spain.....maybe he'll visit that " other " former manager of a Liverpudlian club ...David Moyes.

Mmmm....January 2012, we were still Championship then, and Rickie Lambert and Guly had been scoring for fun up until New Year....we bought Billy Sharp instead. In hindsight Vardy would have been a good buy, but Billy's relatively short Saints' career was fruitful enough to get us promoted that season when Rickie had a "dry spell". After promotion we spent really big money on Jay Rodriguez ( ) and Gaston Ramirez ()

.potentially ...another Charlie Austin.....or Rickie Lambert, then ?

Mmm....I think I'd like Pelle in that line-up too, or are you anticipating that we will be playing the game with 10 men ?

.oh don't you believe it. here in Sweden, stores charge various fees for different sized bags......normally from (abt.)12p. ().up. They are re-usable..a few times at least, but you need to convince some cashiers that's it's already a bag that you've paid for .........

I know Celtic were reluctant to let him go, but coming to a Prem. side (even one that isn't top four)....is surely a no-brainer? Now VvD has said that he's learned a lot (at Saints ).......even in the last few weeks ........

I'm sure something /someone will come up against him...in time. He doesn't seem to be " squeaky clean " - but obviously has powerful contacts who protect him...

I think a thorough investigation was made by an American? / Mexican? lawyer...who wrote a damning report...which FIFA censored and only published a part of ..

very good points, although I think LvG prefers Schweinsteiger to Schneriderlin at the mo. will be interesting to see how Liverpool's NEXT manager handles Lallana, Lovren and Clyne. If he favours another formation, they may be out in the cold a bit longer.