Lighthouse

Clyne with arguably the toughest job out there marking Anya but seems to be doing a decent job.

I think we are most likely to see permanent deals for TA and RB and possibly J Rod being sold. I've got a feeling Long was brought in with J Rod eventually leaving in mind.

Sell him and use a fraction of the money to bring in Huntelaar and Konoplyanka at knock down prices (both free agents next summer)

Good luck convincing Toby he is Dutch.

Could just be Saints leaking rumours to put pressure on the agent of either Bertrand or Toby. If they think we are looking at alternatives it gives them less muscle when negotiating a permanent deal.

Meanwhile Vegard Forren keeps a clean sheet against the mighty Azerbaijan.

You would think so but I don't see what the Ukrainians would gain from a deliberate shoot down. I know it would rouse some anti-Russian feelings but with nothing proven, all we've got is speculation and mud slinging by the respective governments. Nothing worth murdering a couple of hundred innocent civilians over. I'm sure you and most people outside of Russia already know that.

The entire left wing is wonky, as if it has been bent backwards a few degrees. Which is weird because if you were going to make a fake photo, why alter the shape of the plane.

I will almost guarantee that is a fake. At that range it would blatantly obvious you are looking at a commercial airliner, the two of them are barely half a mile apart.

8 League games between now and January. 4 of them against Villa, Palace, Everton (home) and Burnley. The other 4 are more difficult on paper but even if we lost all 4 and Swansea in 5th won their corresponding 4 fixtures, we would only be 5 points behind them. Or we would be 4 points behind Arsenal if they won all 4 of their games. Assuming we at least match Arsenal or Swansea's results in the other 4 winnable games, we are still going to be within striking distance of the top 4 come January. Maybe not in the top 4 but certainly in the mix.

There are cheaper ways around it I'd have though. If you're signing English players just to make up the numbers then you might as well sign Jermaine Wright and Paul Wotton.

I can't see why City would be after J Rod, if they need a player they will be aiming much higher than that. He's had 3/4 of a good season and a bad injury, I can't see anyone forking out for him in January personally. More likely summer if he proves his fitness and regains some form. That said, if someone did offer a big fee I'd take it and reinvest in another player without the fitness doubts.

I don't think Liverpool hold quite the same appeal as they did in summer.

Johnson just looks lost half the time when he is asked to defend. Clyne is a far better player all round.

We will probably get Shakhtar, Anzhi and Hapoel Tel Aviv. 3 absolute nightmare away days.

I wouldn't expect to win any Premier League game comfortably, especially away from home. Just look at how close QPR and Leicester pushed us in our own back yard. I'd put us down as favourites but I think any 'expectations' may come around to bite us on the arse.

I can almost read his mind. "Liverpool won the European cup 30 years ago, so Lovren must be better than any Saints players."

Rickie Lambert. He went for £4m in summer and I doubt anyone would pay more than half that now. I really can't see many Premier League clubs coming in for him. Maybe one of the teams down the bottom but can you honestly say you would rather have him than Austin, Ings or Ulloa?

I always thought it was, "and now you'd better believe us." As for the OP I wouldn't put money on any of the bottom 3 getting to 25 points. I know they can't all finish with so few but Leicester and Burnley are both hopeless in front of goal and QPR's defence is hilarious.

No, it was the right decision. As a life long Liverpool fan he simply couldn't turn down the chance to play for them, even knowing he would be on the bench more often than not. I consider myself a 'first team regular' in my current job but I'd give it up in a heartbeat to be a fringe player at Saints for £40kpw. More likely than not he would be on the bench here anyway. We already tried to replace him with Osvaldo and it was becoming clear last season he was well past his sell by date. If Lambert had stayed we would still have bought Pelle. If Lambert can't get into the team ahead of no-hopers like Borini and Ballotelli then he'd have no chance against Pelle. Dare I say it, if Lambert wants regular football, the Championship is his level. I don't think he has it in him to be an effective Premier League striker every weekend. Just look at Grant Holt as an example.

I do wonder how long Liverpool can sustain their current model. Spunking all that transfer money and big wage packets on the likes of Carroll, Downing, Lallana, Lovren, Markovic whilst not qualifying for the Champs League can't be making their bank manager too happy. Added to that they've always had an Owen/Gerrard/Fowler/Carragher type talisman, with Gerrard on his way out it's hard to see where the next one will come from.

I'm not sure about that, Rickie doesn't seem like the sharpest tool in the box to me. He might be a good coach but I wouldn't hire him based on sentimentality. We are in a position to pick the best personnel from around Europe so Rickie would have to prove himself in that field before giving him a coaching job.

No. He was booked against Liverpool, Swansea, Sunderland and Leicester.

Oh that Spurs performance was hilarious.

You are putting a lot of faith in Balloheskey, Borini, Lambert, Johnson et. al. overhauling what is already an 11 point gap. If we were putting those performances in with that team would you be betting on us to be top 4?