Tommy Cockles

Can we reopen the Bellamy/Riise thread please? My life has no meaning anymore no its closed. I don't know what to do with myself

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And now a newcomer....the 1.35pm Sunday kick off. Unveiled, as it will be, for the game at Villa Park in March. Pleasing.

I wonder whether a golfer has ever attacked another golfer with a football boot.

40 years? More like 40 minutes these days... I think the most surprising thing is that it's still thought to be a good idea to have these trips...I mean what could possibly happen with a group of well paid young lads on a foreign jolly....

Right well you have introduced all manner of variables now and its all too much.

That makes you 32, then. I love maths, me.

A close shave, then.

LOL. Uncle Roy Benitez. That's amusing yet mildly disturbing. Yeah it would. Its hard to put into words, but "ultimate satisfaction" springs to mind. Didn't miss a game that season, the buzz before the QPR game when we knew it was right there was fantastic, especially after what had happened the season before. I hope we all get the chance to experience it again. In my darker days I doubt it sometimes.

True enough. Rafa's Liverpool on the other hand are good at putting away the dross but fold against the good sides... Perhaps some sort of hybrid is in order?

Nailed. I really don't get the logic that seems to say its better to be off the pace and have more points. Cold comfort that. Each season is an entity in its own right and comparing points totals across seasons is a pastime I have always felt to be, well...pointless. Arsenal and Chelsea are indeed stronger now than they were then, but there were teams then stronger than they are now.

The bar may well have been raised, that's professional sport for you. Rafa is paid more than Roy.... Anyway getting back to it, I disagree. We were right in with a real chance of winning it until the practically the end of the season. Something we have yet to get close to under Rafa. That's my "fact" such as it is.

The fact remains that Rafa has yet to mount a championship challenge comparable to that under Evans. Being right in the mix in April? Jesus what I would give for that again. Harping on about Istanbul misses the point somewhat.

No, we haven't. Not at all. But you can't make that point on here, its like the Emperor's New Clothes.

I think we have all, to some degree, been somewhat seduced by the image of our prospective new owners with their huge sums of cash & LFC screen savers on their mobiles. Abramovich but with class. I mean it wouldnt be like Chelsea, these guys are "fans of the club" blah blah blah. Us at our sniffy worst. DICs pique at LFC looking at another offer suggests that they know Gilletts deal is stronger & they want the high ground by pulling out. Just my opinion. Time will tell, as in all things.

Ah Everton. Whenever life gets a bit frayed, you just think about them and it all seems better somehow. I must admit to feeling guilty about being disappointed to hear that Johnsons injury "is not as bad as first feared" Thats wrong and I know it is. Still.

Zico is a great man. Was lucky enough to share a few beers with him after the 25th anniversary dinner for 78 European Cup Winning side. I asked him, as you do, what it was like taking a penalty to win a European Cup. He said "to be honest I was f***ing s***ing myself and changed my mind which way to go in my run up" Top man Zico, as were Jimmy Case, Joey Jones, Ray Clemence and the wonderful Emlyn (even made jokes about half his hair being shaved off). The only one a bit aloof was Hansen. Still a star I guess.

With promotion, relagation and European qualification?

An underrated header of the ball too, Rushie.

I'm wrong. You're right. All is well.

Well, good for you. Lets hope we win both sometime & we can both be happy.

OK lets clear this up. On the basis of what I have seen in the league during RB's tenure I do not believe a title is in the offing. Do you, seriously? If you do lets have a wager. Up for it? Yes we had a great run last year but it stands out against a lot of less-than-shiny runs. As for "where was your post when we won 14 games" well thats just crass & tbh I thought you were more intelligent than that Knox. I don't mean that in a patronising way either. Why is the reasoning that on evidence of one run that he can win it valid, but suggesting that on the evidence of multiple spells of poor form he won't, specious? As for Alonso I merely accepted that the word "missing" was inappropriate as it implied he hid or bottled. I didnt mean that. I meant that in games we needed him to stand out & dominate he didn't. Ergo "missing". As for picking up on Arsenal as some sort of validation for anything well I am speechless. Talk about damning with faint praise.

I stand by my point on Alonso, he is a frustrating player who has lots of ability (never questioned) but who does not do enough. Thats all there is to it. As for the point re last seasons form (too late though it was) use it to defend the manager all you like its not helping us any now as we sit 16 pts off the lead already. This seasons form is my concern and its poor. Rambling & specious reasoning? Thanks. You're not so bad yourself. No I don't suppose you could.