bluemoon

Well, have to say that was a horrid afternoon. Peter Walton produced one of the most inept refereeing 'performances' i have witnessed in all my years going to football. As you have all noticed Mascherano could of been sent off about 5 times yesterday. How the f**k he waved play on after he nearly broke Barry's ankle I will never know. Liverpool played yesterday with a 'do not lose at all costs' attitude. They played anti football and we couldnt break them down, what wasnt helped was the way the referee allowed them to kick the sh*t out of us constantly and rarely giving us the free kick, unless it was in our own half. The Adebayor shove was f**king criminal and directly in his line of vision. Stone wall penalty. Watching that game yesterday makes me start to wonder about the integrity of the game again. Some of the decisions that are made in this league are a disgrace, and yesterday it looked as though Walton was instructed to protect Liverpool. There was no way we were going to be allowed to win that game yesterday, I imagine if we had scored a clean strike from 40 yards there would of been an infringement somewhere. But yeh, the game was dire, just not as bad as Mr Walton.

Just another day at the madhouse.

Well what I cant understand is the contract situation, if its to be believed that Mancini is on a 6 month trial with a view to a permanent then we should of stuck with Hughes and seen our options in the summer. Mourinho is constantly on about a return and I think we could tempt him. I dont think we would be doing any worse under Hughes in hindsight. The team seemed to really like the guy and certain players have really dropped off under Mancini. Ireland, Given, and Bellamy especially. What concerns me most about Mancini is that we do not impose ourselves. We back off and invite the pressure which in this league is suicidal. I have not once seen us play at a high tempo with urgency, we have the technical players to do it. The contrast in style is somewhat eye opening. When we beat you we were harrying and pressuring for every ball and battling in midfield. Under Mancini we allow the opposition possession but dont spring on the counter, instead when we win it seems like its hoofed in the direction of the striker who then is only supported by his strike partner. 3 defensive midfielders is disgusting, negative and in all honesty, frighteningly boring. I dont think I have been as bored since the barren run under Pearce. My impressions have changed of Mancini, he is trying to do enough. To be fair we are 4th with a game in hand and should we beat the dippers that puts us in a great position, all be it with our next fixture being at the Bridge the lead over the, will no doubt be cut again. i just dont see the urgency in the team to realise the opportunity we have. As for Vieira...legs are gone, the brain is still there but he cant carry himself but it seems he is Mancios man, so that means no Ireland.

Im starting to feel that the optimism was a little, ahem...misguided. We are looking clueless at the moment, I cant believe how negative we are, Stoke down to 10 men and we continue with 3 defensive midfielders. His substitutions are baffling. Im very worried we are going to f**k this season royally at this rate. We havent played well since the Blackburn game. We dont look like we know how to attack anymore. Its gone from one extreme to the other. Scoring for fun but defending like sh*t, to be so cautious it isolates our strikers. Sunday is the biggest test for us.

Johnson has done well so far. He caused Hull all types of problems when he finally got on and he was a long way clear for MOTM on Tuesday. I have been incredibly impressed by him and we are better off for having him. A player that can be direct and positive in attack is what we have been missing. He single handily took the game to Bolton and I pray he keeps it up. he looks a real prospect and in my opinion, much better than Downing. He can play on both flanks which is perfect and means no more Petrov on the right thank f**k.

Sorry Gem. Delighted to be honest. I think we could and should of done more in this window to push for that 4th spot. I hope we dont regret it.

Yeh fingers crossed he can fulfil the obvious talent he has. Looked very good last season. I'll be delighted to see it wrapped up though. Sick to death of Petrov being played on the right instead of an out of form SWP. Johnson can play both flanks. It also gives us cover for Bellers.

Boro have accepted our offer. Great news!

If anyone saw how how I defended Ade on here as he was signing for us, well my feelings havent changed about the guy. I rate him really highly as a player and respect him as a person, I was just delighted to see him back on the pitch. As for that lot, well I could never bring myself to sing songs about Munich. (a disaster they have milked for all the commercial opportunities possible whilst sh*tting all over the surviving members families and those who lost loved ones) I just thought it was a disgusting attitude, however it didnt seem to effect Ade, he was full of smiles and worked his arse off to try and get us some sort of foothold with the ball. Im sure he will get a load more of that, especially at the Emirates, but unfortunately its to be expected due to his profile.Those that do it should just consider themselves fortunate that they will more than likely never be caught up in something like that.

Robinho to Santos. 6 month loan deal confirmed. See ya Robbie.

No sour grapes from me, I said the reason we went out was because we had accepted extra time and teams like yourselves and the rags go to the end and that was the difference. The coining incident was the turning point, we had started the second half way out on top, the corner was carrying our momentum, Bellers got coined and bottled, it took a few minutes to clear, the resulting corner was then scuffed into the box, our only corner that didnt beat the first man all night, they broke straight from it and scored. Its not sour grapes, its honestly how i saw it. It took our eye off the game for a minute.

Cheers Chippy, I appreciate it. Im still trying to come to terms with it, but there was that air of inevitability when we got to added on time. Im getting increasingly concerned with Given now leaving his line, that cross was his to be taken but its easy to say in hindsight. Yep, the smackhead knew he had Tevez close behind him, he put his arm on him and then in his next stride full on forearm smashed him across the face. disgusting team.

gutted about last night. I think we deserved to go to extra time, we did so well up until the Bellamy coining incident. From that resulting corner they broke and scored, it broke our concentration and to that point we were the better team. I know alot of you dont like Bellamy but i thought he was excellent last night and had wio and rafeal rattled. At one point he was shouting at wio, "f**k off you c**t, your finished anyway." I enjoyed that moment. Tevez goal was sensational though. The lad doesnt get the recognition he deserves. a back heeled volley! In one way we have won though, the fact they had to play their strongest team in both legs to beat us with an added on time goal shows we are starting to turn the corner. Still they scored in the death and thats what makes a top team like yourselves. Rooney was excellent for twenty minutes or so, he was in Boyata's back pocket for the majority though which speaks volumes for the kid. Another highly promising youngster through the academy. Tevez was man of the semi final for me though. Unbelievable.

Bellamy, Given and Tevez for us have all been sensational.

Not at all, I removed it before this broke after a conversation with nibs or loz. I was going to put up Tevez cupping his ears but couldnt find a good sized one. Im going to miss Robinho.

Yeh I stuck it in your transfer thread. Its all but done apparently. Santos on loan. Gutted as the guy is stupidly talented but he cant motivate himself. I still thank him for what he did for us as a club overall. Without him I doubt the likes of Tevez would be with us now.

Dont get me started on the guy. Excellent with the supporters on a personal basis, absolute cretin in the public eye.

Robinho to Santos on loan. All but done.

Ireland was on the bench last night as is supposed to be playing against Sc**thorpe on Sunday with a view to the 2nd leg on wednesday. The guy is different class and i hope he can become a mainstay again this season. Yeh, think it might be time for a change of avatar shortly.

The talk about Flamini is to play as a right back. Apparently at Milan he has been converted into that position and has played well when needed. Our Full backs are not the best and he cant be any worse than them. Also, although our midfield on paper is really strong, the only player who (touch wood) doesnt seem to be struggling or carrying injury is De Jong. Barry by all accounts has a hernia, Vieira is questionable, Ireland is struggling this season and kompany is having to play at CB due to our injury problems. Flamini would be a good short term deal I reckon.

Adebayor is returning in the next two days according to our official site, Ireland is back but wasnt risked last night. Nedum should be fit as well so we can maybe look to remove Boyata. Vieria will be back too. I thought Kompany had a great game as well. I am concerned about our defence at the minute, RB and LB we are vulnerable. Barry looks a wreck at the minute. As for SWP, it must be a city thing but I feel safe with him on the pitch all though last night wasnt his finest hour. He is often systematically fouled by the scum. Its a tactic Taggart has employed on him in every derby since I can remember. You are correct though, he often runs down blind alleys and he doesnt seem to have that rubber like athleticism any more where he could shift his weight and balance with ease. Next week is going to be so hard for us. We cant play that game in a containment stlye, we have to have a right go because they are vulnerable in defence as much as we are. Adebayor would of had a field day in amongst Evans and caramac last night. Cheers for the support, I have never seen us have a chance of silverware before and it feels like its so close.

My nerves are in pieces after last night. Carlos Tevez was incredible last night. Thankfully he has been like that for the last couple of months and the occasion just added that extra bit of spice. He became a legend last night, making it quite clear to his ex employers what a bunch of mouthy sh*t bags they really are. No fear from the guy. I hope to god Neville plays next week. Lets see what the big man has to say on the pitch with the likes of Carlos, Bellers and De Jong snapping at him. You are all right about taking off carlos and SWP. We had no outlet, Benjani might as well have been a bollard with a blue shirt on, he offered nothing. We really need some of our injured players back next week and hopefully a new signing, possibly flamini. Our RB and LB positions were far to exposed last night, Garrido had a good game, but it was dangerous allowing Valencia the touchline to roam.

Our marketing team just get better and better. sh*tting bricks about tonight though! As for "Wazza" (Clive Tydselys pet name for the granny shagging scouse sh*t) If they cant raise substantial money from selling the likes of nani, Vidic and Berbaflop then I can see them being forced to sell him. I hope we can get in there and set the ball rolling just to piss bacon face off. Personally Id love to see us offer 80 million for Rooney, Evra and Vidic. See how the bank manager views the offer.

I wish we would make you an offer for Bosingwa, I rate the guy highly and we really need a decent right back urgently.