BigBird

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Their three home games in this calendar year produced a 2-1 victory over Leicester followed by two 1-1 draws against West Ham and ten man Ipswich. Villa are not a team in outstanding form, nothing like as strong as Bournemouth on their home pitch. We play well, we win. Not a problem.

I had one point for Robbo but let's not forget the important feature; Liverpool won, MU lost. It's been a good day, all is well with the world.

Dom for me. Non stop running, won his tackles and passed the ball well. In good form at the mo.

F***ing Robbo. Szoboszlai is s*** Sell Diaz Slot Out Bring back Hodgson Gary Neville knows his stuff Joe Cole is cool Micha Richards is amusing Only 2-0 down but the ref is having a blinder

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As you say, Cicaedo could have been great in our set up, but in retrospect who would you prefer, him or Grav? There's little doubt who has proved to be the best value for money.

The most popular posting day, according to this threads stats, was 11 August 2023 when 1069 contributions were made following news we were buying Moses Cicaedo for £110M. Fortunately the transfer never happened, saving us a fortune on a decent player who has not justified the fee Chelsea ultimately paid. Grav proved to be far better value for money, a transfer that received very few comments. The stats demonstrate a universal truth; Money is far more fascinating than talent.

Agreed, but check the fee for his age and compare it to what Bournemouth would want for their young defender. With some decent coaching for a tall left footed German international he fits the profile for our type of acquisition.

This from Anfield Watch; A report from Sport Bild's newspaper edition claims that Liverpool have been enamoured by the performances of Koulierakis of Wolfsburg. According to the report, Liverpool were in attendance in November to watch him in action against England in the Nations League and have been asking around about him ever since. This is a story that could hold some weight. Liverpool scouted PAOK last season to keep an eye on Stefanos Tzimas, who Anfield Watch exclusively revealed was of interest to the Reds in the January window. And Koulierakis also has the same agent of Kostas Tsimikas, which would make a deal a lot easier considering there is a prior existing relationship there between the two parties. Wolfsburg reportedly want up to €40m for the 21-year-old defender according to Sport Bild, which is a little higher than his €20m valuation on Football Transfers. But it could be money well invested considering how brilliant Koulierakis has been. Koulierakis is a brilliant defender who reads the game well, is relatively quick off the grass and stands at a towering height making him an imposing presence for any attacker. As a left-footed defender, he is also a great commodity in the modern game especially because he is also very comfortable on the ball. Among centre-backs in the Bundesliga, he ranks in the top 10 for defensive duels won (71.43%) and he also ranks 16th for progressive passes (8.89 per 90). His aerial numbers could improve, with Koulierakis winning just over 57% of them in the Bundesliga. Ideally, you'd want a defender to be averaging 65% or above. But he has the height and the physicality to improve that side of his game, and age is on his side. Overall, he's a very promising young defender. Given his ability to play as a left-sided centre-back, he could be the perfect heir to Van Dijk's throne in the future. It makes sense for Liverpool to bring him in now, have him be the understudy and gear him up to be ready to take over when the time comes.

BBC just announced Haverz injured himself in training. Out for the rest of the season, leaving Arsenal without a fit regular striker in their squad. Shame.

Normally draws in those four away games would be a good result but mean eight dropped points. However, we did beat Bournemouth away so winning at least two of those fixtures should not be beyond us. I strongly fancy our chances at Villa and City.

Though Dom played well. He won plenty of tackles and ran hard all game. He and Konate our best players I thought.

Everton XI: Pickford, O'Brien, Tarkowski, Branthwaite, Mykolenko, Gana, Garner, Lindstrom, Doucoure, Ndiaye, Beto Subs: Virginia, Begovic, Keane, Harrison, Young, Alcaraz, Iroegbunam, Sherif, Heath

Clearly aiming for insight, tactical appreciation and boredom. Just for a change.

Nah. Despite the drop in productivity Diaz is still our most skilful ball player. We are a better team with him in the starting eleven, it's why Arne picks him for the tough games. Even if not in his best position.

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Chris Waddle on R5 said some of the City players looked tired in the second half. Waddle knows his stuff, that could be the explanation for their late collapses.

How is Jude Bellingham doing? He was mentioned twice in the first half on R5. Once for making a pass, the other for chasing after one.

Forest 2 - Exeter 2. Visitors took lead now they just equalised.

Chris Waddle said on R5, RM poor at defending corners but came alive in last 10 minutes. Co commentator John Murry replied that Pep is wearing brown canvas shoes with white soles. I need a firestick.

No! No! An unforgivable blasphemy. Utterly shameful.