Tambling Dice

Does Pinocchio have wooden balls?

No doubting Hazard's ability ..... The problem is nobody else seems to be on his wavelength unfortunately.

Much better tempo ... Delia's catering van will be looking for a new parking space shortly....

Clumsy challenge....should have been given...

Hazard looking keen..I wonder why?

Bentley moving better than our forward line...

Most likely a conversation every manager will be having with all his staff.

I suspect Jose plans these big games meticulously and everyone has to fulfil their duties. It was nothing to do with fitness from what I could see, he just lost concentration and lost his man. Deserved a roasting if you ask me...doubtless it would all have remained private had not Hazard decided to have a moan in public. Stupid stupid boy....who needs to be reminded who's in charge. I suspect that after tomorrow there will be a few more things for the papers to write about and the Jose fest will hopefully die down from tomorrow...

Willmots has already tried to unsettle him ..... and if he has a good World Cup then I could see his head being turned.

Highly doubtful I suspect.....If Jose is looking to build now then these type of loan deals make no sense whatsoever.

We all operate on different frequencies and react differently under pressure....I suspect none of us really has a clue. Apparently I cried when I met Fred Dineage.

Maybe he's injured and maybe he's fatigued but generally he doesn't create enough for me for a #10 and it sometimes gets glossed over because he works so damn hard...... Building a team around him might have been a bit ambitious but he is clearly talented and we need to find a place for him....

Our new friend is now also a member of dogging.co.uk with a very interesting profile... Happy to do my bit

Athletico average?? I thought great philosophers were supposed to be wise

Have to say we didn't look like a 'Team' tonight..... All will come good when we spank everyone's arses next year. Must say it's been an exciting last month or so following this lot. ... And it may not be all over yet..

Costa will leave for the money of course.

We've had a good run....our limitations are being exposed a bit but next season we will be stronger....

Still 30 min left guys.....we have goals in us...

Costa is a real pain in the arse......

Defence looking at bit nervy....need to hold on to the ball and weather this first 10 mins

Just a minor point but I'm sure it hasn't gone unnoticed how much better Schwarzer's distribution is than Cech's. On Saturday, a couple of kicks to a heavily pressured Ba, were right on the money....just a shame they were subsequently miscontrolled and ballooned into the stratosphere. (Although he did slip a few times which I will coveniently put down to the Scousers over-watering his penalty area)

Back in the 1950s Wolves won everything in sight and beat some of the leading Continental teams by playing a long passing game. In 1954 Wolves won the League and West Brom, who played a short passing game came second. Before long the London journalists, jealous of Wolves success, decided that it was because they were playing football the wrong way. A few years ago I read that Wolves in those days booted the ball upfield where big powerful forwards fought for it. I wondered who these big powerful forwards were. John Hancocks or Norman Deeley - both 5 foot 4 ? The gentlemanly Jimmy Mullen? The Schoolmaster Dennis Wilshaw:? The frail (in those days) ball player Peter Broadbent?: Such is the rubbish written by journalists about the right and wrong way to play football...yes theyve been doing it for years. What time and numerous examples have proven is that there is no "correct" way to play this game. You can be successful by playing a high possession game or by being direct. You can do it by pressing high up the pitch or by defending deep. You can use width or you can go narrow. Whether you succeed or not depends on how well you execute whatever your plan, and that depends on two factors. One is how good your opponent is at stopping you. The other is how good your players are at executing the plan (which, of course, is also dependent on whether you select the right plan for the players you have: if Tony Pulis played “long ball†with Barcelona/Bayern Munich or if Pep Guardiola played “tiki taka†with last season’s Stoke it probably wouldn’t quite work out). Even the good (not great) teams like the Fabregas-era Arsenal, came unstuck. Just as a personal observation, I've always thought that a deep-defending counter-attacking strategy is the easiest way of gaining success but bearing in mind what a results orientated business this is ... that suits me just fine.

Personally would love to see Hazard stride out tomorrow. That alone would delight me immensely.... We all know they're a strong counter attacking side and his guile is so important. I see a comfortable score line (2 maybe even 3 -0) but a few anxious moments along the way.

Very composed debut. Czechs have a habit of producing classy defenders (Jankulowski, Ufjalusi) ... Hope we've unearthed another one.

Didn't see Suarez do much better earlier today....it's Costa for me