vs. The Bin Dipping Scum (H) (PL) - Sat 10/03/18 12:30 GMT

[Deleted]

Is it Saturday yet!!

[WhatsTheMata]

There's a place we know where Scousers go
and it's always lots of fun
you can have a laugh at many things
if you're ready with a pun

You can mock the dead of Munich
be glad that George Best's dead
you can sing a dozen funny songs
of Duncan Edward's head

You can hope that Gary Neville
gets cancer and he dies
throw ammonia at Whiteside
and hope it blinds his eyes

You can even stone an ambulance
where Alan Smith is lying
even if it doesn't overturn
it's bound to be fun trying

You can talk of many pleasant things
with your like-minded mates
but you'll pause to show such reverence
as you pass the Shankly Gates

Where every single Scouser
who ever passed away
must be honoured and respected
have their own special day

Cos Scousers are a special breed
their hearts upon their sleeve
they ask the country to join in
and watch them as they grieve

They celebrate and they respect
each Scouser who departs
they ask that we can shed their tears
and nurse their broken hearts

Yet mention dead of anyone
who doesn't fit their own
they laugh out loud there is no shred
of honour ever shown

They laugh at young men dying
on runways filled with ice
and celebrate that Munich day
and never would think twice

of mocking Harold Shipman's dead
that lived within our city
these wallowers in plastic grief
the masters of self pity

They wave their tin foil silverware
and throw cups filled with shit
to shower on opposing fans
but never will admit

the murder of their very own
their much loved Stanley knives
the night they killed Juventus fans
a tragic waste of lives

It's "justice for the 96"
but never 39
It's grieving for 'poor' Michael Shields
but not for Heysel dying

It's always everybody else
they're not the ones to blame
it was Chelsea, Yorkshire coppers
it's always been the same

We've all shed tears as 96
lay dying on the floor
but our sympathy has long since died
we'll grieve with you no more.*



*Don't like this last bit because a tragedy is always a tragedy and we shouldn't go down their level, but the rest of this is just perfect.

[Deleted]

In your Liverpool slums,
You look in the dustbin for something to eat,
You find a dead rat and you think it's a treat,
In your Liverpool slums

In your Liverpool slums,
You shit on the carpet, you piss in the bath,
You finger your grandma, and think its a laugh,
In your Liverpool slums.

In your Liverpool slums,
You speak in an accent exceedingly rare,
You wear a pink tracksuit and have curly hair,
In your Liverpool slums.

In your Liverpool slums,
Your mum's on the game and your dad's in the nick,
You can't get a job 'cos you're too fucking thick,
In your Liverpool slums.

[Ole's Red Whiteknight03 Army]

League position considered, I’m expecting we will be set up to hit them on the counter and accept the possibility of a bore 0-0 draw. As much as I hate this fixture and would love nothing more than to smash them into oblivion, I’d take a draw and keep them behind us going into the run in. I feel that we’re more likely to keep our nerve and they’re more likely to Crystanbul it up at some point and let it slip.

Having said that, Pogba putting in a performance to justify his price tag wouldn’t go awry either.

[caino]

Mar 9, 2018 4:53:13 GMT Ole's Red Whiteknight03 Army said:

League position considered, I’m expecting we will be set up to hit them on the counter and accept the possibility of a bore 0-0 draw. As much as I hate this fixture and would love nothing more than to smash them into oblivion, I’d take a draw and keep them behind us going into the run in. I feel that we’re more likely to keep our nerve and they’re more likely to Crystanbul it up at some point and let it slip.

Having said that, Pogba putting in a performance to justify his price tag wouldn’t go awry either.

I think the opposite. they are rolling lesser teams over now.

we prone to a fuck up nowadays. plus we have more games to play than them. only be a couple but that could be crucial

[Deleted]

Dear god there's a discussion on sky sports news...seen it all now the deluded fucks.

[Karma]

Mar 9, 2018 7:43:00 GMT Paul said:

Dear god there's a discussion on sky sports news...seen it all now the deluded fucks.

It's the same with Ederson.

For some reason he's now become a world class goalkeeper.

I think they are trolling us.

[Rustin Cohle]

They're spot on that we have no excuse for finishing below Liverpool. We simply must finish above them.

www.football365.com/news/big-weekend-liverpool-mourinho-west-ham-rondon

Big Weekend: Liverpool, Mourinho, West Ham, Rondon

Game to watch – Manchester United vs Liverpool

The gap to fifth place is not yet large enough to ignore, but it might soon be if Chelsea continue to stumble. Liverpool and Manchester United are both in far better shape than Antonio Conte’s side. The bookmakers believe that the top-four race has run, and that Tottenham are the only possible casualty anyway.

Yet this still matters. Reasonable Liverpool supporters might not go as far as calling their recent history with Manchester United as a changing of the guard, but there is certainly a sense that they are the Premier League’s feelgood club while Manchester United continue to search for their groove under Jose Mourinho. Liverpool have a chance to record consecutive league finishes above United for the first time since 1991.

Finishing as runners-up to Manchester City is important for United, too. The argument against criticism of Mourinho is that nobody could reasonably have expected to keep up with City’s domestic pace. That might well be true, but Pep Guardiola’s side are now lapping even their closest challengers. Finish in third, and that argument goes out of the window.

So too does the argument about City’s spending. Since the start of last season, Liverpool have made a £34m profit on transfer fees. Manchester United have made a £248m loss. The current gap of two points does not reflect that tremendous spend, but finishing behind Klopp really would make Mourinho look more like yesterday’s man. Time to silence the noisy family from down the road, even if the neighbours are still hosting their season-long rave.

Manager to watch – Jose Mourinho

We will never know quite what impact Mourinho’s tactics at Anfield had on Manchester United’s season, but the evidence is there. Prior to that 0-0 draw, United had scored 21 times in their seven league games, one goal less than Manchester City, who were on the same points. In the next ten games, including the one at Anfield, United dropped 11 league points and scored goals at a rate of 1.6 per game rather than 3.0.

In that game, Mourinho instructed United to sacrifice possession and effectively also abandon their hopes of winning the game. United completed almost 250 passes fewer than Liverpool, had only 37.8% possession and managed just a single shot on target in 90 minutes.

That strategy was viewed by many Manchester United supporters as appropriate given Liverpool’s attacking potential, but it also hinted that Mourinho was scared of Liverpool. Gary Neville speaks about how Alex Ferguson would have never countenanced settling for one point at Anfield when his side could take three and rub their rivals’ noses in their own turf. Like it or not, a handbrake had been applied.

The irony is that now that strategy – or a version of it – might make sense. Liverpool had scored only five times in their four league games before the October fixture, hardly evidence of an attack likely to overpower United. Now they have scored two or more goals in 11 of their last 12 league matches.

And yet at Old Trafford, Mourinho cannot do the same thing. Containing a rival away from home can be sold as pragmatic, but doing so at home will be interpreted as cowardice if it is not successful, even by United supporters. Can Mourinho really risk playing with a deep defence again and hoping that Roberto Firmino, Sadio Mane and Mohamed Salah don’t get the better of Chris Smalling and Victor Lindelof?

Mourinho’s best option is probably a halfway house solution. He can instruct United to stay resolute, particularly in the first half, but they must play with counter-attacking verve to stop Romelu Lukaku becoming as isolated as he was at Anfield. They have a striker bang in form; it would be foolish not to use him.

Liverpool’s weakest point is their holding midfield and their defence. If that makes attack Manchester United’s best form of defence given the propensity for Liverpool to score at least once, it’s not a strategy that comes naturally to Mourinho.


Daniel Storey

[Rustin Cohle]

www.football365.com/news/man-united-v-liverpool-one-big-game-five-big-questions

Man United v Liverpool: One big game, five big questions

All the talk in the build up to Sunday’s north-west derby is whether Jose Mourinho will confront Liverpool with an attacking formation or revert to type, producing another claustrophobic 90 minutes that mimics the tedious 0-0 draw we saw at Anfield in October. With the Premier League title clearly beyond Manchester United this season, fans want their team to lay down a marker for the 2018/19 campaign with a more confrontational tactical approach.

It’s unlikely they’ll get their way. Mourinho has a new 4-2-2-2 formation he could deploy, as he did in a relatively positive performance against Chelsea two weeks ago, but faced with the pace of Sadio Mane and Mohamed Salah, his conservative instincts will surely kick in.

But that doesn’t necessarily mean we’ll see another goalless draw. Liverpool’s full-backs pose a threat that wasn’t present back in October, which could force United’s hand, while Jurgen Klopp’s gegenpressing might just unsettle the less experienced members of the United first XI.

Here are five tactical questions ahead of Liverpool versus Manchester United:

1) Will Mourinho experiment with his new ‘midfield square’ formation?

Jose Mourinho’s unusual 4-2-2-2 against Chelsea at Old Trafford a fortnight ago was probably the most creative thing the Portuguese has done since arriving in Manchester. With Anthony Martial lurking alongside Romelu Lukaku to facilitate a quick counter-attack, the ‘square’ (as Mourinho called it) freed both Alexis Sanchez and Paul Pogba to shuttle up and down in the half-spaces without United losing defensive solidity in central midfield.

Mourinho abandoned his new formation for the trip to Selhurst Park only to reinstate a slapdash version during the second half, suggesting a super-narrow midfield is the best way to accommodate all of his best attackers. It’s worth noting that Lukaku’s goals against Crystal Palace and Chelsea came via intricate one-twos around the edge of the D, an area in which Mourinho teams are traditionally clunky and individualistic.

Such a narrow formation could leave United vulnerable to Liverpool’s front three (Crystal Palace found it alarmingly easy to slide through balls between the full-backs and centre-backs on Monday night), although it’s more likely the 4-2-2-2 would help stunt the visitors’ attacks. After all, Jurgen Klopp likes his players to charge directly through the middle to maximise short-passing angles and overwhelm the opposition central midfielders. In a midfield square, Sanchez would be in the perfect position for his headless-chicken tracking back and tackling to actually be effective.

Mourinho, though, is naturally conservative, and continuing with the trial would be a pretty risky move for the derby.

2) Are McTominay and Lindelof up to the challenge of Liverpool’s high press?

We all know how Liverpool will approach this game, but the killer paradox of Klopp’s tactical model is that anticipating the gegenpress increases your fear of its powers, and to fear the gegenpress is to allow it to overwhelm you.

United misplaced ten passes in their own half in the opening 24 minutes against Chelsea, betraying a sluggish start that was replicated the following week at Palace, in which they misplaced nine passes in their own half within the first 20 minutes. Victor Lindelof continues to disappoint in possession while Chris Smalling lacks the leadership skills required to calm his centre-back partner (Eric Bailly is unlikely to start following a three-month lay-off). If either player starts nervously Liverpool will pounce.

The same goes for Scott McTominay, the Great Enigma whose continued inclusion speaks to Mourinho’s love of anti-individualism. For the most part McTominay simply occupies space, cutting off passing lines and shimmying across like a cone on wheels controlled by Mourinho’s mind. Faced with the snapping tackles of Klopp’s midfield, this is arguably McTominay’s first real test in a United shirt: does he have the technical ability under pressure to evade the high press?

3) Will Liverpool’s full-backs hurt United by crossing before they reach Valencia and Young?

Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain has done a decent impression of Philippe Coutinho, but he isn’t a like-for-like replacement for the Brazilian who, under Klopp, had become a false eight, threading through balls from deep positions to release the front three. In his absence, Liverpool have turned to a more traditional route: crosses.

Andrew Robertson and Trent Alexander-Arnold are truly exceptional crossers of the ball, and crucially both can whip them in from the corner of the penalty area. Whereas initially opponents could stunt Liverpool by sitting deep and squeezing out space centrally, Robertson and Alexander-Arnold have forced defences to come out and to widen, in turn creating additional space for the likes of Roberto Firmino and Mohamed Salah.

United’s superb defensive record at Old Trafford (six goals conceded in 14 league games) coupled with their cautious approach to ‘big six’ fixtures means Liverpool won’t be afforded much room. But if the Liverpool full-backs pepper the box with crosses, and from positions before they are forced to confront Antonio Valencia or Ashley Young, then the visitors will increase the tension for United – and possibly force some nervy errors.

4) Who will come out on top: Lukaku or Van Dijk?

With eight goals in his last 11 matches Romelu Lukaku is back in form, although the Belgian often struggles when isolated up front in one of Mourinho’s defence-first matches. He managed a meagre 22 touches of the ball when the two sides met at Anfield in October, had one touch in the opposition penalty area during the 1-0 defeat at Chelsea in November, and completed just 37.5% of his passes against Man City in December.

Conversely, Van Dijk is very much a big-game player, something that became immediately apparent to Liverpool fans when he scored the winner against Everton in the 84th minute of his debut. He will be tasked with man-marking Lukaku from corners as well as sitting on top of the 24-year-old to prevent United’s long balls from finding their target.

As United’s sole counter-attacking outlet, suffocate Lukaku and you nullify the team; whoever comes out on top in their duel will almost certainly be on the winning team.

5) Will substitutes Lallana or Mata pick the lock in a congested game?

Irrespective of whether Mourinho is cautious or expansive in his approach on Sunday, substitutes are likely to play a major role. If McTominay and the rest of the United team successfully outmanoeuvre Liverpool’s high press and limit space in behind then Adam Lallana could have a decisive impact from the bench, but if Klopp’s system exploits a more attack-minded 4-2-2-2 then Juan Mata could have the same effect for the hosts.

Lallana has started just one league game this season but completed a full 90 against FC Porto in midweek, meaning he will almost certainly not be selected for the derby. The England international is precisely the sort of intelligent playmaker who will be looking out for the spaces from the sidelines, ready to drift into pockets when introduced for the final 20 minutes.

The same can be said for Mata, who had a subtle but significant impact on the result at Selhurst Park on Monday. Mata took up a deeper central role than usual, clipping passes into the final third and pushing Palace back towards their own penalty area. He could have a similar influence on the result T Old Trafford should United be chasing a goal.

Alex Keble

[Deleted]

Mar 9, 2018 7:43:00 GMT Paul said:

Dear god there's a discussion on sky sports news...seen it all now the deluded fucks.

ffs

[Deleted]

Mar 9, 2018 9:06:04 GMT Rustin Cohle said:

www.football365.com/news/man-united-v-liverpool-one-big-game-five-big-questions

Man United v Liverpool: One big game, five big questions

All the talk in the build up to Sunday’s north-west derby is whether Jose Mourinho will confront Liverpool with an attacking formation or revert to type, producing another claustrophobic 90 minutes that mimics the tedious 0-0 draw we saw at Anfield in October. With the Premier League title clearly beyond Manchester United this season, fans want their team to lay down a marker for the 2018/19 campaign with a more confrontational tactical approach.

It’s unlikely they’ll get their way. Mourinho has a new 4-2-2-2 formation he could deploy, as he did in a relatively positive performance against Chelsea two weeks ago, but faced with the pace of Sadio Mane and Mohamed Salah, his conservative instincts will surely kick in.

But that doesn’t necessarily mean we’ll see another goalless draw. Liverpool’s full-backs pose a threat that wasn’t present back in October, which could force United’s hand, while Jurgen Klopp’s gegenpressing might just unsettle the less experienced members of the United first XI.

Here are five tactical questions ahead of Liverpool versus Manchester United:

1) Will Mourinho experiment with his new ‘midfield square’ formation?

Jose Mourinho’s unusual 4-2-2-2 against Chelsea at Old Trafford a fortnight ago was probably the most creative thing the Portuguese has done since arriving in Manchester. With Anthony Martial lurking alongside Romelu Lukaku to facilitate a quick counter-attack, the ‘square’ (as Mourinho called it) freed both Alexis Sanchez and Paul Pogba to shuttle up and down in the half-spaces without United losing defensive solidity in central midfield.

Mourinho abandoned his new formation for the trip to Selhurst Park only to reinstate a slapdash version during the second half, suggesting a super-narrow midfield is the best way to accommodate all of his best attackers. It’s worth noting that Lukaku’s goals against Crystal Palace and Chelsea came via intricate one-twos around the edge of the D, an area in which Mourinho teams are traditionally clunky and individualistic.

Such a narrow formation could leave United vulnerable to Liverpool’s front three (Crystal Palace found it alarmingly easy to slide through balls between the full-backs and centre-backs on Monday night), although it’s more likely the 4-2-2-2 would help stunt the visitors’ attacks. After all, Jurgen Klopp likes his players to charge directly through the middle to maximise short-passing angles and overwhelm the opposition central midfielders. In a midfield square, Sanchez would be in the perfect position for his headless-chicken tracking back and tackling to actually be effective.

Mourinho, though, is naturally conservative, and continuing with the trial would be a pretty risky move for the derby.

2) Are McTominay and Lindelof up to the challenge of Liverpool’s high press?

We all know how Liverpool will approach this game, but the killer paradox of Klopp’s tactical model is that anticipating the gegenpress increases your fear of its powers, and to fear the gegenpress is to allow it to overwhelm you.

United misplaced ten passes in their own half in the opening 24 minutes against Chelsea, betraying a sluggish start that was replicated the following week at Palace, in which they misplaced nine passes in their own half within the first 20 minutes. Victor Lindelof continues to disappoint in possession while Chris Smalling lacks the leadership skills required to calm his centre-back partner (Eric Bailly is unlikely to start following a three-month lay-off). If either player starts nervously Liverpool will pounce.

The same goes for Scott McTominay, the Great Enigma whose continued inclusion speaks to Mourinho’s love of anti-individualism. For the most part McTominay simply occupies space, cutting off passing lines and shimmying across like a cone on wheels controlled by Mourinho’s mind. Faced with the snapping tackles of Klopp’s midfield, this is arguably McTominay’s first real test in a United shirt: does he have the technical ability under pressure to evade the high press?

3) Will Liverpool’s full-backs hurt United by crossing before they reach Valencia and Young?

Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain has done a decent impression of Philippe Coutinho, but he isn’t a like-for-like replacement for the Brazilian who, under Klopp, had become a false eight, threading through balls from deep positions to release the front three. In his absence, Liverpool have turned to a more traditional route: crosses.

Andrew Robertson and Trent Alexander-Arnold are truly exceptional crossers of the ball, and crucially both can whip them in from the corner of the penalty area. Whereas initially opponents could stunt Liverpool by sitting deep and squeezing out space centrally, Robertson and Alexander-Arnold have forced defences to come out and to widen, in turn creating additional space for the likes of Roberto Firmino and Mohamed Salah.

United’s superb defensive record at Old Trafford (six goals conceded in 14 league games) coupled with their cautious approach to ‘big six’ fixtures means Liverpool won’t be afforded much room. But if the Liverpool full-backs pepper the box with crosses, and from positions before they are forced to confront Antonio Valencia or Ashley Young, then the visitors will increase the tension for United – and possibly force some nervy errors.

4) Who will come out on top: Lukaku or Van Dijk?

With eight goals in his last 11 matches Romelu Lukaku is back in form, although the Belgian often struggles when isolated up front in one of Mourinho’s defence-first matches. He managed a meagre 22 touches of the ball when the two sides met at Anfield in October, had one touch in the opposition penalty area during the 1-0 defeat at Chelsea in November, and completed just 37.5% of his passes against Man City in December.

Conversely, Van Dijk is very much a big-game player, something that became immediately apparent to Liverpool fans when he scored the winner against Everton in the 84th minute of his debut. He will be tasked with man-marking Lukaku from corners as well as sitting on top of the 24-year-old to prevent United’s long balls from finding their target.

As United’s sole counter-attacking outlet, suffocate Lukaku and you nullify the team; whoever comes out on top in their duel will almost certainly be on the winning team.

5) Will substitutes Lallana or Mata pick the lock in a congested game?

Irrespective of whether Mourinho is cautious or expansive in his approach on Sunday, substitutes are likely to play a major role. If McTominay and the rest of the United team successfully outmanoeuvre Liverpool’s high press and limit space in behind then Adam Lallana could have a decisive impact from the bench, but if Klopp’s system exploits a more attack-minded 4-2-2-2 then Juan Mata could have the same effect for the hosts.

Lallana has started just one league game this season but completed a full 90 against FC Porto in midweek, meaning he will almost certainly not be selected for the derby. The England international is precisely the sort of intelligent playmaker who will be looking out for the spaces from the sidelines, ready to drift into pockets when introduced for the final 20 minutes.

The same can be said for Mata, who had a subtle but significant impact on the result at Selhurst Park on Monday. Mata took up a deeper central role than usual, clipping passes into the final third and pushing Palace back towards their own penalty area. He could have a similar influence on the result T Old Trafford should United be chasing a goal.

Alex Keble

Are you sponsored by f365?

[Rustin Cohle]

Mar 9, 2018 9:12:25 GMT Carbon said:

Mar 9, 2018 9:06:04 GMT Rustin Cohle said:

www.football365.com/news/man-united-v-liverpool-one-big-game-five-big-questions

Are you sponsored by f365?

10P an article

[Deleted]

Mar 9, 2018 9:20:18 GMT Rustin Cohle said:

Mar 9, 2018 9:12:25 GMT Carbon said:

Are you sponsored by f365?

10P an article

Good money from the look of it

[Tatty]

Picked a bad weekend to give up drinking temporarily.

[Deleted]

Mar 9, 2018 9:20:18 GMT Rustin Cohle said:

Mar 9, 2018 9:12:25 GMT Carbon said:

Are you sponsored by f365?

10P an article

Only 5 articles needed for a house in Liverpool.