Moneyball won't win the Premiership 2012-13

This sounds like a decent game

It's a bit scrappy. Liverpool have wasted a lot, the City goal was fairly embarrassing. Reina all over the place.

oh squirtle.

gerrard-esque from the big man.

FFS, bet they lose now.

i sort of hate skrtel

playing sterling was a good choice imo, all the dalglish era shite on the bench

also raheeem sterling is a good name

dalglish era shite warming up.

Good performance overall, tho they never really stopped doing well against the top sides.

Nothing yet to distinguish this season from last season afaict

The style was a little different today. Sterling is really exciting too.

tbh I've only seen the last hour v WBA and the Hearts game, I think everything else will've been better than those. I'm going next week though, should be interesting

I actually thought shelvey was good today.

the radio was talking up Joe Allen

All three of the midfield were very good I thought, Gerrard included, Allen especially.

Yeah the midfield is looking good. Also, didn't even notice Coates for the whole game, I guess that's a vote in his favour. Thank fuck for no Carragher.

There was plenty chuckling at Coates' distribution fwiw. This all sounds good, but last season was all about being the better side and drawing. Albeit it's against City, but still.

yeah so pleased to see coates picked instead of carra and not particularly because coates has looked great, kind of feels depressing when you see carra's name on the team sheet. thought we looked good, allen has slotted right in and it seemed like his tidyness rubbed off on some of the other midfielders as the game went on. sterling looks the real deal, great first touch and invention, would probably have took him off after an hour though. skrtel inexplicable.

I love the ferocity of the pressing game we played.

If Utd ever got a decent offer for him I think they shud seriously consider selling him, he's not as Gud as wot people reckon he is and is no where near wot I wud call a world class striker....god knows how he got so many goals last season, in my opinion he's peaked at his career and won't get any better .

- oohaah cantona 7, Fort Myers beach, Florida, 26/8/2012 22:08

currently rated ^ 4 on the daily mail

garth crooks' team of the week features skrtel, with eden hazard in defensive midfield

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/19388012

bug eyed loon.

happy enough with that from lfc y'day. Actually the best defensive shape we've had this pre-season and season so far, albeit with a calamitous error for the 2nd goal. Gerrard gave the ball away for the first goal but there was plenty of time to rectify that before the ball found the net. Feared the worst when Lucas hobbled off but Shelvey did really well. So glad Sterling is getting a chance and will more happily accept some sub par performances from him which is inevitable given his age than suffer through downing game after game.

That Garth Crooks entry on Van Persie - "I'm not entirely sure what was more surprising: the ease at which Van Persie took to the Old Trafford stage or the fact he did it so well without Wayne Rooney by his side. Exactly what Sir Alex Ferguson was up to leaving Rooney out of his starting XI was anyone's guess, but it didn't faze the Dutchman one little bit." Crikey

with 'Pipes Of Peace' Paul McCartney proves he *can* have hits without Michael Jackson

Yes if we've learned one thing this weekend its that Van Persie can score goals without Rooney next to him.

Morgan is going to get such a bullying

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0tHGwfwkoVg

i fucking love bren

dempsey to... sunderland?

oh clint

he did demand CL football iirc

oh wait...

oh dempseypaws

i'm not seeing much on the dempsey thing. is this from the same website i saw the squillacci news?

modric to real is official, 37m euros.

rumors I saw were on twitter

Phil McNulty ‏@philmcnulty

More Rodgers on Joe Allen: "We paid £15m for him and I said that very quickly that price would double and people probably laughed at me."

21h Phil McNulty Phil McNulty ‏@philmcnulty

Brendan Rodgers on Joe Allen: "He's five feet six but in terms of a footballer he's seven feet six. He's absolutely immense."

Yes the list of great seven feet six footballers just roll off the tongue. There's thingy and whojacallit.

i like the way he feels his hyperbole re allen was vindicated by one good performance

he is in a good situation tho, dalglish and hodgson have lowered expectations so much

a proper commitment to actual football, bit more excitement from sterling, gerrard looking interested and suarez actually converting chances and he will be well regarded even if they finish 5th or 6th

oh dear, sorry for that over the top cuntish remark yesterday ronan. i was rather drunk at the time. think i'll give the pre-match drinks a miss next time.

Joseph Barton ‏@Joey7Barton

Doesn't look like this Marseille thing is gonna happen now. 'Whatever doesn't kill you make you stronger' #heartbroken

Been forced to go back training with the kids and fellow Taliban members at 2pm today...

wait WHAT?

I expect he's talking about his pariah status rather than, y'know, Muslims.

unless hughes has moved training to gitmo

that or he has joined the taliban

t/s -- tweeting about the courteeners vs destroying the bamiyan buddhas

oh dear, sorry for that over the top cuntish remark yesterday ronan. i was rather drunk at the time. think i'll give the pre-match drinks a miss next time.

no need to apologise at all.

qpr really are signing julio cesar apparently. i take it all back, the club's being run by complete morons. scary.

so, so, so bad and uselessly disjointed on the pitch btw - as of right now i have no doubt there's not a worse side in the league functionally speaking. city and chelsea next and i'll be mildly gobsmacked if we let in under ten, regardless of who else we sign this week.

Via his twitter account, the controversial midfielder expressed his love for the club and asked Stephane Mbia to stay at Marseille.

“J'espère que vous resterez frère (I hope you stay brother) Vous êtes un grand joueur, j'aimerais jouer avec vous (You are a great player, I would love to play with you),” tweeted Barton.

now imagine how i lolled when his move collapsed

has julio cesar had a spectacular collapse in ability over the last year or is this signing really that mental?

i am kinda more interested in why he always looks like a normal bloke photoshopped to look fat, it's genuinely bizarre