saintwbu

Still skewed though, you could make a two yard pass to someone who turns and smashes it in from 30 yards and get an assist, but you could take it round 7 players including the goalkeeper, cut it back on the goal line and the striker put it over from 5 yards and you don't get anything. Always makes me wonder what sort of stats Ozil would have if he had an Aguero in front of him!

Ibe looks decent, fell out with Klopp apparently, so attitude perhaps questionable but then again a 20 year old from London having to live in Liverpool without being on top money or playing regularly would probably turn me into a bit of a ***** as well. Sheyi Ojo however looks brilliant in his cameo's this season but I'd imagine he'll be a regular feature before long so probably not for sale. Although perhaps his life long ambition is to play European football and therefore just couldn't turn down a move to Southampton...

Think I'm right in saying he's recently signed a new deal rumoured to be in the £120,000 a week mark. At the end of the day, that's what keeps a player, and evidently if any of ours end up at Liverpool this season then it's what lures one away as well, apart from history of course because all players care about that...

I think Tadic wouldn't be a case of "I'm good enough for a top 4 club" but more "I want to play every week" - I could see him making a sideways step to an Everton or West Ham type, but can't really blame him if it's on the grounds of wanting to play more often. It'd be a shame, because I think when he has a good game we seem to be unstoppable. As for the others, expected but still disappointing to hear it. I love our approach to replacing with cheaper but capable (and sometimes better) replacements, but I think after a couple of years of this it'd be a nice lift to everybody for us to make a bit of a statement... GET OXLADE-CHAMBERLAIN

I know everyone will say 'oh it's in the championship', which yes in parts is a lower standard league, but I think Bournemouth, Watford, Leicester show that the gap isn't what it once was. In the games I watched him in, he looked like he could see what nobody else could, which sometimes I felt was the case here when he set up chances that no one else saw coming (West Brom at home for Lallana), but understandably if that only happens once every game or two then it does give the appearance of being a passenger. Hopefully he stays with Boro and makes a Premier League career, never seemed to be a problem within the squad like Osvaldo was, so I think a lot of the criticism is slightly excessive, he just wasn't what the manager required.

I have maintained since that hat trick against Villa last season that one day Mane will fall into that bracket of players just below the Messi/Ronaldo/Neymar/Bale/Suarez one, so in the company of players like Hazard/Lewandowski/Ribery/Ibrahimovic, providing he can find some consistency in his game. The way he can stop dead, stand up to two players, and just leave them in his wake is astounding, his change of feet and speed is rare and he just makes everything look effortless. But on top of his skill, I think his work rate goes completely unappreciated, even when he was going through that bad spell mid-season I still didn't want him dropped because even when he's not on song he still causes constant problems because he is always working. I remember when we beat Chelsea away from home I saw so many opposition fans tweeting how hard he was working that night, but he does that every game even when it's not quite happening for him, which is something you can't always attribute to a player of his variety, who often go missing when it gets tough. Sadly it almost certainly won't be for us, but I really believe Mané will make it right to the top.

Cedric had some very good games this season, Chelsea away in particular if I remember rightly. But he sometimes was dropped following decent performances in what seemed like an attempt to provide a more physical presence in certain games in the form of Martina or even Yoshida, so I don't think this helped his cause and probably knocked his momentum at times. I think Martina has acquitted himself well though, he lacks in certain areas a right back shouldn't but he has contributed in an attacking sense too, and for his price has been a bargain.

I think that if we lose Wanyama we need to replace him with someone who can at the very least cover a hell of a lot of ground. It's going to be difficult to replicate the physical presence of Vic in the middle, but if we get someone with a lot of pace and energy to play that breaking-up role then we are part way there, as shown by the success of Kante at Leicester (albeit he does obviously possess a lot of technical ability too, but his energy is probably his greatest attribute). So as it is, Carrick would not be of use to us i don't think, despite his obvious qualities.

Anyone else feeling slightly less hatred towards Poch after that picture...? almost feels a bit like some form of closure haha.

As others mention often, Sigurdsson would be an unbelievable signing, but I just can't see it happening as I feel like his experience at Spurs has probably put him off moving to another Prem team. I know he has been accused of going missing but I really think that Wijnauldum is a player we could do with, the top scorer in a very poor Newcastle team that all go missing, I think the good he has shown this season (his first in the prem of course) should be taken more notice of than the not so good.

They've refunded the ticket for today's game, but then also given them a free ticket for the next game. So instead of just getting a new ticket for a new game, you get your money back altogether so you're watching the game free of charge.

Whenever I have seen Derby on Sky Sports highlights reels over the last few seasons I've found them to be really entertaining and the atmosphere in the ground looks brilliant. Whenever I take the time to watch one of their games they look absolutely ****. Hillsborough was rocking last night, think I'd like Sheffield Wednesday to come up, but also a big fan of Steve Bruce so likewise would be happy with Hull coming up. Definitely, absolutely, positively, certainly not Brighton.

Completely pointless fact but Southampton Solent University football team wear Under Armour kit I saw last week. Considering it's probably just bog-standard catalogue teamwear it was really smart, and seemed very fitted.

I'd probably put Martina in the 'wins' category due to his performance in relation to cost and expectancy. Came over with a really bad reputation, but has put in a few good displays recently (and some not so good, admittedly), but for his cost I think he's been good value for money. Seems a popular guy in the squad as well. Agree on all the rest though.

Like getting a penalty away at City after it hit Sterling on the back? Or scoring a second which came directly from Aguero wrongly being called offside? meaning you win a game that probably kept you in the title race. Oh no wait, that was Spurs. Leicester's luck/bad luck has been no different to anyone else's, people in the media are just trying to blow it up because it's little ol' Leicester

But they played alongside each other on Saturday and you still criticised him so what was the reason for that?

It felt like the early goal made us realise we would cruise, fans and players alike, and the intensity was never really there. Predictably unfair criticism of Pelle as usual, thought he was brilliant, nice finish for his goal and some great touches to bring others into play, but most of all an absolutely sublime directed header/flick on to put Long in behind, really hope they show it on MOTD tonight. Long's energy was a huge loss when he got replaced, wonder if the clash with Darlow affected him more than it looked? Clasie's delivery from set pieces was absolutely woeful, as was 99% of his passing, and Wanyama's wasn't much better in the first half but he looked like a completely different beast in the second half and I loved his reaction to his goal, you can tell he has been frustrated by going all season without one and it seemed like the team were delighted for him. A strange, but good day at the office! Can't we play Newcastle at home every week..?

I agree with the injuries thing, but I always moaned about that attitude last year when we were flirting with the top 4, the old 'oh they'll drop off when the injuries hit' (which of course they did for us), but injuries are not guaranteed to happen, and as seen this season they can affect the big 4 as much as anyone (City will tell you that, not that they have an excuse with their squad depth/spending power). But the point about their style of play has been mentioned a few times in recent weeks on TV, and it's irritating. Chelsea played with 9 men behind the ball all season last year, and it was great tactics supposedly. For me, Leicester are showing they have a plan B and are bloody good at executing it. Around Christmas I was thinking that they are just outscoring the opposition (4-2, 3-2 type of thing), which always results in a rapid slide down the table once the inevitable goal drought arrives, but they have found a perfect plan B in defending solidly whilst still carrying a massive attacking threat. Brilliant, brilliant football from game 1 to game 32, they couldn't be more deserving of the title if they win it and I really hope they do.

I've always been of the opinion that handball is handball and that is it, it is very rare someone 'deliberately' handles the ball, and that rule leaves it to interpretation which is a significant cause of the inconsistency we see in officiating. In hockey if it hits your foot, it's a foul, intentional or not. Huth stopped the ball travelling towards goal because his hand was far away from his body, in my opinion that should be a clear cut offence, but I have to accept that for most people it's all about intent for some reason. Schmeichel is spot on IMO, keep it simple, make it easier for everybody.

Funny how it takes one supposedly bad game from Pelle to bring out all the critics, but scoring one, setting up two and winning a penalty against Liverpool got minor praise, as did scoring two against Stoke, and also every chance we had vs. Sunderland a few weeks back seemed to be created in some part by him as well. I couldn't watch the game today, i flicked through it later on and it still seemed that most of our positive moments came via Pelle in some form, most notable the Mane chance/Simpson handball all coming from a fantastic turn and pass from none other than the whipping boy himself. Certain players are just chosen to be blasted more than others I guess. I don't think he deserves to be dropped against a terrible Newcastle in favour of a Rodriguez who has missed almost two full seasons, and an Austin who has been out for 3-4 weeks.

Found it really refreshing to hear Koeman seem incensed at the end and finally give his genuine opinion on the refereeing. I personally thought the Simpson/Huth incidents were two of the least obvious refereeing errors that have gone against us this season, and I can see why they were not given, but come on we all know they sometimes do get given just not in our favour. I have said for ages we are too nice, there is no crowding of the referee from our team, which we'd all like to believe is something that we are proud of, but the referee's in this league are so weak that crowding sways them beyond belief, and we always suffer because of it (West Ham at home the main incident I can think of). Koeman finally saying just how **** the officials have been towards us in these three games in a row alone shows just how frustrated he must be, and in another season these decisions could be the fine line between staying up and going down, or Champions League vs. Europa League. People who say you shouldn't blame referees for our failure to win games are delusional, at this level you may only get one opportunity in a game, and if an oppositions player denies that illegally (foul, handball) then that is cheating and is enough to win/lose a game, so have a day off. As I said, today's incidents could've gone either way for me, but we never get them, and this season has been beyond a joke.

Couldn't agree more, been saying for about 5-6 years we should lose Rooney, but as you mentioned the UK journo's will be saying he MUST play, just as they were on Sunday Supplement last Sunday embarrassingly. Vardy and Kane both hitting the 20 goals mark this season, when was the last time Rooney did that!? Now he's played in whatever position they can squeeze him into in order to get him on the team sheet. Wayne Rooney is not Philip Lahm, if he is not the best option in his position then he should not play, his versatility is a myth shoved down our throats since his various managers discovered he was no longer capable of playing as a striker. Currently, he is so far behind Kane and Vardy in my pecking order, but alas probably not Roy's.

Lallana is now benefitting from the old 'play for Liverpool and you are guaranteed to be in every England squad' rule, after a poor season but for the last 3 or 4 games, so I guess he can enjoy that gain from his move. What have him and Henderson done to start today over Vardy or Drinkwater?

Anyone else still watching the highlights of this game at least once a day?

I put it in the match thread but: Anyone see Matchday Uncovered and at half time as Vic walks out the changing rooms in his kit it seems like Origi and Sturridge look at each other as if to say 'oh sh!t here he comes', might've even been able to hear them mention 'beast' LOL. When he is on song I do absolutely love watching Vic.