Kenny Dalglish Won't Be Delivering the Module: English Premiership 2011-12

I think i love Phil Jones

otm

Cleverly's foot possibly broken, Davies you cunt

I don't think I can remember a better start to the season (for United). I don't mean statistically (although four wins and eight-six goals or whatever is pretty impressive), just the style, the way everything seems to be clicking. I can remember we won the first ten games in 1985, but none of it was televised so I have no idea what that looked like. Scoring 4 goals in the opening 20 minutes against Fulham in 2006 was damn good, but I can't remember what happened after that.

Infostrada Sports on Twitter: "Wayne Rooney becomes the 4th player in Premier League history to score consecutive hat tricks after Les Ferdinand, Ian Wright and Didier Drogba.

OptaJoe on Twitter: "18 - Man Utd have now broken the PL record for the most goals scored after four games of the season (18). Extraordinary."

Agreed NBS, and i don't think it's a coincidence that Berbatov isn't getting in the team.

Bit of a shame, that. Still, at least Owen's not playing.

city are gonna walk this aren't they?

need to see them against someone decent

tbh i think it's hoovering up points against the 14 other teams that'll push them over the line, obv premature but it's looking like the best 2 horse race in ages.

Since last year in Spain, the way things are going.

Two things are interesting me underneath:

• how long can Chelsea keep going? If they can keep winning, and then eventually do click as avb prods around, we may get a three-horse race yet.
• how good are Stoke and what can they do? Liverpool pummelled them a bit today but they were strong enough to survive reasonably well. You can see them beating any of the 'other fourteen'. Are they actually top six contenders?

stoke are an absolute nightmare to play. i think a lot of the coverage of DIRTY DIVING CHEATS masks the fact that the likes of stoke get away with a hell of a lot of nasty, snidey bullying and niggling. shawcross, jeez... to think we were linked with that fucker.

was last year in spain a 2 horse race? i should pay more attention but from a distance it didn't really feel like real got barca off the bridle.

I didn't see the Spurs game but this is a strange pattern of play for a central striker, must have been interesting to watch.

Barcelona dropped points in the fall iirc and had to chase for a while.

There were four points in it but Real didn't get close to Barca in the games between them.

barca didn't run away with it by any means. i expect the same this season.

Well Real have taken the advantage today. Just about

ade trying hard to please by the looks of it, blimey. xp not that barca ran away with it but just had the feel of NEVER IN DOUBT. a bit like liverpool 08/09 ;_;

Jeez Louise, I can't believe people are making this into a two horse race already. There's still 34 games to play. I can totally see Man City disintegrate later on this season due to having a shit coach and not being as cunning and automatic as ManU, say. If Chelsea keep hanging on they are well in this still.

And don't rule out Wolves ffs.

Pundits giving it the 2 horse race theory already are quite funny.

To be fair it was obviously a three-horse race before the season started, calling it two-horse now is really no more than saying Chelsea ain't all that.

i'm no pundit.

Chelsea ain't all that.

They're still picking up the points. And last season their form was insanely erratic: I don't think I've ever known a team go from being so dominant to so shit (and then sort themselves out again). There's no reason to think they'll be any more consistent this season - who knows what they'll be playing like in a few months' time?

As long as they keep Torres on the bench eh?

how was meireles, anybody?

i wasn't thinking of pundits on here so much as professionals. but no way are Chelsea write-offable yet and we've seen teams go from unstoppable to stuck in a rut season in season out.

also *cough*Liverpool*cough*

Liverpool are good again but they are not title race material this year.

i'd consider them rank outsiders but we'll see. obviously 4th game predictions have a great track record.

weird dalglish interview after the game suggesting that respecting referees is costing us points and that he might have to think again and be a bit more "destructive" o_O

Rank outsiders - I can go for that. Realistically should get fourth, might finish ahead of Chelsea, no way are they finishing above either Manchester side.

I'm in two minds about whether to start a thread asking a fairly obscure question about the first world war. I might not bother. I might just ask it here instead.

fergie didn't fight in WWI, no

Britain won aet

Uwe Rossler's great grandad was not a Zeppelin pilot iirc

Victory parade before crowds on The Mall chanting 'one world war and no world cups, doo dah' iirc

sir alex will have been fuhrerous

*must stop posting then forgetting about it*

"plucky little [________]" <-- actual cause of hostilites breaking out

ha

"he's been caught in no man's land, no idea what he's doing there to be honest"

rooney goebbels up those chances

legendary match in no man's land final score 4-2 to england in extra time

"they think it's all over, it will be by christmas"

Austria-Hungary went to pieces during the run-in

city are incredible

tackle by davies on cleverly was innocuous enougn imo? Yeah, through the man but not straight leg and not down on the foot.

for all the decisions i've seen given in carragher's favour over the years, that's an incredibly soft penalty

henderson..........

That Liverpool penalty appeal at the end was fucking bollocks

"A Difficult Place to Go" should basically be on the "Welcome to Stoke" sign on the motorway at this point