Davvo

Generally no, of course not, but in the context of that situation last night, I think he looked weak. Just the fact Balotelli thought he could get away with taking the ball off him, suggests he thought so too.

Not being sure how to deal with it is weak isn't it ? There shouldn't have been an opportunity for Balotelli to even take the ball from his hands, had Henderson been confident and strong in his convictions. Second sentence is a bit odd, I'm talking about him looking mentally weak, not physically. A strong leader would have tucked it under his arm and marched to the spot, he stood there a bit hesitantly to my mind.

Agree entirely with that. Also, Balotelli should have showed the same gumption with that last minute free kick, as soon as Hendo spots it the game's over. It was taken from him like candy from a baby, he wasn't happy about it, and didn't have a clue how to handle it. He looked very weak.

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PowWow with FSG's Italian franchise.

not sure how to quote from that, but this particular section seems pretty prophetic, 3 years later, given that in accounting terms we've made a profit on transfer activity over the last few windows. 'We should as fans be knowledgable about why the club is making decisions and provide a sense of validation. For example, if in three years time the club break even in a transfer window, maybe we would accept it because we incurred a number of expenses such ad contract renewals and paid doen some debt; rather than whining about lack of investment we would have an intelligent debate.'

Linda was at Tobacco Dock in London today for some function. I realise this doesn't assist with plane spotting. Maybe they all flew down to London last night, and then BR + JH on to Italy or elsewhere, who knows.

Yes, and we seem to have developed an ability to fix broken players, there must be some sort of laboratory at Melwood. If Lovren's been rebooted and comes back the player he can be, it makes us much stronger. Palace and Besiktas are potential opportunities for him I should think.

Aye, and a decent effort from Burnley too.

It's allowed him to settle into the side, but with Lucas out and Stevie looking knackered, I think it's a perfect time to see how he goes. Looks more than capable, and better than the other available options, plus is likely to start next season there. Add Kolo back into the mix for RCB, and the fact we play Palace in the Cup next, I think it's worth trying.

I think lovren would be best in the centre, but agree, Skrtel needs to stay put while he's in such good form. Also, not sure Skrtel is suited to wide of a 3. If Lovren wants back in he's going to have to step up and play wherever, though either wide spot could be a challenge for him I think.

Don't like Scholes, obviously, but this tickled me. https://vine.co/v/OU2dvgFO0pr

Centre mid. The time is now.

He'll be signing a 4, if not a 5 year deal, the TV deal kicks in within 18 months, his agent will want a slice of it. Staggered increase maybe ?

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I'd imagine most CEO's at clubs have their phones off about now, the Mendes' of the world will be going into a feeding frenzy. There will be some sizeable, but comparitively insignificant, spend on grassroots etc, as part of some nice PR.

Yes, new players coming to the market too. You do wonder what might happen to Sky's business model, if they lose a significant amount of coverage.

Whether the figures are accurate or not, I don't think BR or anyone else could make an argument that £130k p/w would be more damaging to a young man than £95k p/w. Both are obscene amounts of money. If there is a reluctance to give him more than £95k, or whatever, it's down to budget, not morals.

Interesting that Setanta went bang, and ESPN effectively left the arena too. Competition is making Sky/BT etc stretch, BT in particular are going crazy at the moment, not beyond the realms to suggest someone might overstretch at some point. The ITV digital thing hurt lower league clubs for a while, similar could happen if TV companies don't get the required ad revenue/subscribers. Actually, football aside, BT are being remarkably bullish just now. Highly unlikely. The TV money offsets potential gate revenue losses, it'll take big drops in attendance for prices to fall.

I alphabetised mine once, it didn't last.