NAMING RIGHTS THREAD: Liverpool really won't win the Premiership 2010-2011

Didn't get away with that really.

Not really fussed about the new season yet and the prospect of watching Arsenal do the same thing again for the whole campaign is not enticing, although comedy og almost makes up for it

Two points literally dropped there

Looked like a pussy referee "even up the red cards" decision tho.

"its not a ball to handjob" good one co-commentator

lol

also "ball to hand job" lol commentator.

otherwise got to be happy with that

Don't really see either of these two challenging us this season, we can concentrate on the big guns like Chelsea, Blackpool.

can we buy a new fucking centre half this week arsene? i know its only blackpool at home next week but ffs.

Disappointing but would have taken 1-1 at the break. Good spirited performance.

Looked like a pussy referee "even up the red cards" decision tho.

― 'ray Clamence (Noodle Vague), Sunday, 15 August 2010 17:56 (1 minute ago)

along with the ball to handjob I also enjoyed the co-commentator suggesting that Kuyt would let his mum look at his genital injury.

anyway that red looked harsh to me, he had about a tenth of a second to react.

Would have taken 1-1 at Anfield any season, just glad we didn't lose the first game of the season.

Hopefully that's Reina's one mistake for the season, though wouldve been better if he'd left it 'til they were already 2-0 down to Stoke or someone

Promising start to the season. Would be a shame if Mascherano left because he did very well protecting the back four with Gerrard.

More importantly, when did Sky decide Arsenal should be abbreviated to ARL instead of ARS? Looks ridiculous.

"And to prove we have put thought into it here's Mark Lawrenson"

O RLY

from the ref's angle it does look p nasty - cole's foot up high going into him.

not even remotely a red, wtf

the major lesson this weekend has been "fucking Steve Bruce needs to shut the fuck up"

lol what did he say?

he's an idiot

9 red cards last season for sunderland is a record apparently

baseless victim complex, bashes ref condescendingly for being inexperienced, defends thug Cattermole

i love the way on sky they were all "does a referee consider a player's reputation in this situation"

me and my friends imagined it becoming a high minded moral debate with andy gray saying "what if joe cole were a convicted rapist, should he then be sent off for this sort of tackle?"

"what if a player had done an interview in a magazine that week claiming he would foul an arsenal player viciously but make it appear as though it were not a foul?"

Oooh MOTD (...2) on the iplayer! Is MOTD on it as well?

yeah think it is from this year, it's been due to be for ages and ages.

ZONAL FUCKING MARKING!

lol, get over it man.

maradona for villa! plz plz plz randy, make it happen.

I'm just, like, I mean, ARGH! It's kind of the cornerstone of everything that is wrong with 99% of football punditry, analysis, critique. I'm astounded that these people, who used to play the fucking game!, don't understand something that's really incredibly easy to get to grips with. The stats show that Liverpool's zonal marking was, in general, incredibly effective under Rafa. And the fact that Lawro said that Gerrard was marking an area, i.e. a ZONE, just makes even more of a mockery of his punditry. I mean ffs! lols.

It's Lawro mate... if you are gonna get annoyed once then you've lost.

i know, you're right. ok. i promise not to say the 'z' word or to comment on rubbish football analysis AT ALL for the rest of the season.

Nah, go for it. I'm just saying go steady or you may have a heart attack when something actually big and worth getting yr pitchfork out happens.

That's my resolution too Chris.

Tbh, following it has been a bit like cutting my nose off to spite my face. Other than the two live games I've only been able to watch a few seconds of football focus. Switched that on and Lawro couldn't even watch the Icelandic fish celebration without moaning. I realised v quickly that there was no way I could tackle motd without getting the urge to kill, so it's currently off-limits entirely.

At least the live games have the crowd noise up high enough that I can ignore Gray if I so choose.

("all very well until someone sprains their ankle doing it" was Lawro's verdict btw)

ha, I knew after that bit I'd come here to find you exploding, Chris.

I was only half-watching MOTD2, was there no 2 good 2 bad or did I just miss it?

no 2g2b ;_;

has been replaced with "ten things we miss" list that was just dull and taken from a 90s danny baker video

i haven't heard anything about the second half of liverpool/arsen cept result. chamakh looked pretty poor tbh- thought jovacenacevicen looked really good though.

cole's tackle prob borderline red- very high, very late, scissored the leg of the standing man.

wilshere's was late, but he pulled his foot out and on replay hardly made contact. was yellow.

no real comparison imo.

In so far as one game reveals anything, I was pleased with Liverpool - writing off their top four chances is crazy talk. I wouldn't talk them up as winners, it'd take a league of pre-modern scrappiness for them to get close, though they looked competent and spirited and those had to be the first hurdles this year.

Everything that was wrong with Arsenal is still wrong with Arsenal. There was a tortuous period midway through the second half where Sagna was free wide on every attack, and didn't get played in once.

i think for any one of everton, liverpool or spurs to get a CL spot this year arsenal will need to perform well below par all season.

Not sure about that - or at least we might have a different view of where par is, but they might well look different with van Persie back and Chamakh bedded in. They'll need to hit the odd cross though.

chamakh really didn't look very good yesterday. too early to make a call on him.

both teams starting 4-5-1 is a bit depressing, even for a big game.

I thought it was 4-2-3-1? (like I can tell the difference)

451 incorporates 4231 imo tbh

Have a £10 bet with a friend that Chamakh will score 15 this season, not panicking yet.

yeah early days to be fair to him. wouldn't have thought that the lone striker role was gonna suit him tho.

He should be good for that i'd've thought - first-choice striker in a side well capable of bullying the lower orders? (so long as they don't insist on the 'two banks of four' thing). Bendtner must've been close to double figures last year, and he was crocked for a fair bit of it and is Bendtner.

erm chris surely all your zonal marking cheerleading proves is that it's a totally viable defensive system that your glorious leader rafa was rubbish at implementing?

nu motd2 was really shit btw, felt like i was watching cbbc with all the crap culture-ref "features"

like, let's commentate... in black and white! say what you like about hansen and shearer but hopefully they will kick this nonsense in the balls sharpish.