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

Spurs need to be better than this. A lot better.

Also can someone tell Friedel to stop just hoofing it to no one?

His eyesight's going, thinks he sees Crouch way off in the distance, it's actually Mark Schwarzer.

Never in doubt.

while only having 5live to tell me about this game so far I will venture that playing ropily and winning is at least as much an indicator of a potential CL spot as, say, spanking Liverpool 4-0

jesus that was poor, great points

Parker should never have been on the pitch second half, he's clearly dazed

My stream was a bit behind. Heroic keeping from Walker at the end

That and the Blackburn game have reassured me that we're capable of picking up points even when under the cosh against teams who throw the kitchen sink at us.

Way flattering scoreline but it was all about individual brilliance (Friedel, Lennon, Defoe, King) rather than any sort of coherent performance. Late header off the line aside, that was as poor a game as I've seen from Modric in a Spurs shirt, our midfield just couldn't get a grip on the game at all.

Still, we'd have lost that last season.

I will venture that playing ropily and winning is at least as much an indicator of a potential CL spot as, say, spanking Liverpool 4-0

― We All Had Guess Papers (DJ Mencap), Sunday, 6 November 2011 18:03 (2 minutes ago)

true enough, i think

at a certain level that contention probably doesn't hold, like they were saying newcastle played badly and won (pbaw? praw? wwpr?) yesterday, but then showed them avoiding an obvious penalty decision, like maybe it's just a sort of luck/ sense of purpose that holds out for a bit even when they stop really playing well

We avoided a really obvious penalty shout as well, Walker blatantly handballed it in the area but there was such a mad frantic scramble going on at the time that you can kinda forgive the ref for missing it.

you need some ref bias working for you too. The true mark of champions

That was some heroic defending from Spurs.

Also (and I know I'm more than a decade late to ask this) what the hell is Brad Friedel's accent?

ismael you must be happy, davies just tripled your points for the week...

I've stopped looking, am relying on you 'well-wishers' for updates now.

Liverpool after 11 games last season: 18 points
Liverpool after 11 games this season: 19 points

That's progress.

It was 15 points from 11 games last season, actually. Which was then followed by 7 from the next 7.

I'm still convinced Suarez won't be here next season.

Yeah, it did cross my mind when pandemic had his epiphany this afternoon. I wonder if they're lining up someone interesting for the january window?

Zamora?

Hm. There's no bigger fan of Bobby Z than me, but I'm not sure that'll do it.

Hoilett prob

Aw fuck it, he'd be great. Him and Dempsey in a swap deal for Carroll, everyone's a winner.

why do u think he will leave?

(suarez)

hoilett is out of contract in the summer

Adam seems incapable of functioning in a 4-4-2, Downing's faded, Henderson's best moments have come when he's played CM, Carroll ??? Poor Kuyt and Maxi can't get a look in. Maxi's unhappy and looking to leave in January, so I hear.

CL teams will surely come sniffing for Suarez?

He wasn't an unknown quantity before Liverpool came in for him, though, so no reason why they should be jumping for him now. That's what I'm telling myself. Pool do need to make a step up though before he gets the idea that he's carrying the team.

Some excellent finishing from Bolton today

is Bale actually getting credit for that goal??

it looked like it'd've hit the corner flag

I reckon Liverpool are more likely to try and make a couple more big signings than they are to sell Suarez, which would be like admitting defeat pretty early on. Don't see any reason why they should panicking just yet - there's loads of quality in that squad and Suarez, Kuyt and Bellamy should be good for enough goals even if Carroll never makes it.

I wonder whether Dalglish has just been away from the game for too long, he doesn't seem to have got them to gel at all yet. And he's been making some bizarre decisions - selling Mereiles, signing Bellamy and barely playing him, leaving Kuyt on the sidelines. I still think they'll have a reasonable season but I can see them slipping below Arsenal pretty soon and staying there.

God I don't need to hear Grygera screaming again...

Bellamy was obviously signed as a backup tho

Is he really so past-it? I know he's 32 now but he was pretty lethal before he fell out with Man City.

I don't think he exactly set the Championship alight last year, but you're hardly going to play him ahead of your 35m striker and phalanx of central midfielders anyway are you?

Bellamy is probably there as an impact sub - I'd say he should be starting but I have no idea what his physical condition is. Kuyt should play every game in full - he has the odd shocker but otherwise he can do everything and doesn't let you down. Lucas too, without the shockers. Adam has exceeded my expectations but he's slow and this is why I think he only works in a five. Maxi's just too slow. Selling Meireles was stupid. Downing I thought was great but reading about his lack of end product has got me concerned. Henderson I never notice.

The thing is though, Suarez is far too good for them. You can easily make up a serviceable front six from that lot plus Gerrard and Johnson, but if it's going to compete it's because he's carrying it.

apols if this was already noted in the wasteland of 'load all messages' but there has been some insanely good goalkeeping in the Prem this weekend

al habsi was incredible, wasn't he

Suarez flatters to deceive, i'm starting to think. If Carroll starts firing, and i've faith he will, and they can gel, that's a classic partnership- but i dunno that suarez isn't to wasteful if there's not a scrapper in the box to finish for him. Kuyt if not carroll.

lol at motd2 highlighting modric's display today, his worst performance in a year or more imo.

Walker was bloody good. Getting kinda sick of matt's patient approach paying dividends itt.

Tho, tbf, it was no surprise that a jol team outplays & outshoots you but ends up losing- and satisfied with it.

BAE's looking good isn't he?

ha yeah, that's an input into the 'patient matt' comment, but he's been great all season, i'd say there's only enrique and maybe baines to touch him from what i've seen.

Good Spurs first half

very poor second half or Fulham were somehow very good

they should have had a pen but so should we

late goal flattered Tottenham

I don't dislike Liverpool, I quite like them in various ways, but I do enjoy it when the big-spending scousers draw at home with newly promoted teams.

het someone post this to a relevant thread so i can avoid work pls, can't type it out on a phone tbh. (darraghmac)

Name		Team		Mins	Gls	Ast	Eff.
Edin Dzeko		Man City	583	10	3	44.85
Sergio Aguero		Man City	654	9	3	54.5
Ivan Klasnic		Bolton		516	5	4	57.33
Roysten Drenthe	        Everton 	306	2	3	61.2
Samir Nasri		Man City	431	1	6	61.57
Robin van Persie	Arsenal 	904	11	3	64.57
Mario Balotelli		Man City	332	5	0	66.4
Demba Ba		Newcastle	642	8	1	71.33
Wayne Rooney		Man Utd	        831	9	2	75.55
Adam Johnson		Man City	388	3	2	77.6
James Milner		Man City	558	2	5	79.71
Ashley Young		Man Utd	        641	2	6	80.13
David Silva		Man City	895	4	7	81.36
Rafael Van Der Vaart	Tottenham 	676	6	2	84.5
Frank Lampard		Chelsea 	856	6	4	85.6
Gabriel Agbonlahor	Aston Villa 	942	5	6	85.64
Jermain Defoe		Tottenham 	441	4	1	88.2
Emmanuel Adebayor	Tottenham 	714	3	5	89.25
Gervinho		Arsenal 	639	2	5	91.29
Aaron Lennon		Tottenham 	381	1	3	95.25

good man good man

Anyway, plenty of english talent there going on the evidence, no?

Dzeko is a flat track bully imo

just as well there are an awful lot of flat tracks in the epl then.

btw, had defoe's goal not taken a deflection it would have been a real beaut

xp

well yeah but y'know he'll score a couple against some dross that's already 3 down, he seems dead wasteful when it matters

gtfo flat track dzeko, how many of those goals were against top five teams

Surprising to me that Balotelli's managed 5 goals and no assists, he doesn't strike me as selfish when he's on the pitch, small sample size I guess.