DISQUS

I'd be interested to know if this "informal survey" involved anything more than asking a couple friends what they think of England. And you make it sound like every Tom and Harry in the US is walking around with a pistol...it's not exactly the Old West. All-encompassing statements like "people carry guns in the US and do not in Britain" are mostly just foolish and irresponsible. There are certainly dangerous parts of the US and its cities, but I'd think that's true anywhere. I'm not qualified to say anything about Britain, so I won't, but maybe I'll do an informal survey to find out. Nice plug for your site though.

eplmatches, you have not seen Kuyt's form lately, or watched him as the lone striker in the couple matches he's had that role. We have depth in "strikers," but we do not have depth in quality strikers. Kuyt does not have the skill, aerial ability, or pace to operate as the lone man up top. Keane at least had pace and technical ability; all Kuyt does is work hard. This hard work has created some fine opportunities in the past, but right now he's floundering. If Torres should go down or be unavailable, I think Liverpool have to switch to two strikers. Who those two strikers would be remains to be seen, but I don't think one up top is as effective without Torres. The relationship between Torres and Gerrard works because it's reciprocal, and without one of those cogs the system changes dramatically.

Er, wouldn't Man U have been the big winners if Liverpool and Chelsea drew? I think in this case it's basically a push, unless you want to get technical and say they're the big winners because they're still in first and after today there is one less game to play in the season. And Boswinga would have been sent off in the 93rd minute, after Liverpool was already ahead. Unless Gerrard's sent off earlier, then Boswinga might not have ever been in the position to be sent off and Liverpool might not be ahead 1-0. And if Gerrard was sent off then Lampard might not be sent off and then Bosingwa probably wouldn't be sent off either. And then it might not have been 2-0, it could have been 0-0 or 1-0 or 0-1 or 4-2 or who knows what. Bottom line, hypotheticals are like lying to your brain. And Liverpool won 2-0.

Obviously a terrible call, equally bad, if not worse, was the incident late when Boswinga planted a boot squarely in Benayoun's back. Simply horrible, and no call. And Jonathan, quick to call out who doesn't understand sarcasm. I seem to remember sarcastically attributing one of your columns to my comment and you racing to your own defense. Easy fella.

The worst part is it's like confronting a racist--"I have lots of black friends"--when you bring up the negative Liverpool slant. Sure you've written articles about Liverpool doing well, but for Christ's sake, if you don't like them own up. We're not all a bunch of zombies following Rafa to the end of the earth, a little honesty goes a long way. And baiting our supporters is not exactly the most tactful.

False, it's just mind numbing to read four articles in two days by four different authors on the same site about the same subject. Plus, there's nothing really original or controversial being said--Liverpool have blown it in January (and largely December) and have probably killed their title chances. The articles about Liverpool have basically turned into Mad Libs at this point--include negative adjectives about January form and Rafa's rants, throw in positive verbs about what Man U is doing to opponents, use superlatives to describe what it would take for Liverpool to win it. We get it, but for some reason you assume Liverpool fans are incapable of insight or unwilling to accept that the team is struggling right now. Being masters of the obvious doesn't really warrant much comment and certainly doesn't mean our supporters have gone into hibernation. Plenty of great dialogue and interesting articles over at ohyoubeauty.blogspot.com.

facetious

Clearly you're using my comment from your previous post as fodder for a new article, how about a little credit where credit is due.

Headline could have easily read Lucas costs Liverpool 3 points...and how often have you played goalie, making the decision to stay on the line or come out? And Wigan did not have huge stretches of possession, they were better in the second half but were in no way dominant. Neither side deserved the 3 points. As a Liverpool fan, I'm tired of hearing the other teams' tactics blamed for draws or losses. Time to show up regardless of 10 behind the ball or 2.

Mido's a talisman now? If he's any "-man" wouldn't he fall more in the "journeyman" category?

and seconds on the GAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH

Hey Gaff, where'd you find the Benitez quote about Keane?

Thanks

Article was fine, I got a chuckle...I doubt the Lescott comment was malicious in any way. I love reading the comments on this site, hypocrites abound. What if Craig Bellamy's anger was the result of a childhood trauma or trying to deal with the death of a loved one? All of a sudden your joke becomes wildly offensive, eh Patrick? But it's okay because you wrote it, or because you didn't know, or because you didn't mean anything by it, or because you support West Ham blah blah blah. Plus, it's sad about the injury, but objectively, Lescott does have bad hair. To hell I go!

do you mean hearsay?

For me the purpose of the group stage is for teams like Panathinaikos to battle through and end up in the knockout stages. Maybe not an earth-shattering upset, but hardly expected. I enjoy the Tuesday/Wednesday fixtures...I do agree that after qualification is determined the matches are a little boring, but overall I'm a big fan of the group stages.

Seriously, this is bad. What's the point?

No toss up how he'll be remembered--as the man who led them to their worst league start ever.

Hyypia is unfounded...putting him in the same article as Lee Bowyer is an insult. Hyypia filled in admirably last season; sure, his pace is less, but he's still quality in the air and a threat on set pieces. I keep coming back hoping the writing will get better, but time and time again it doesn't.

Well Gaff, can't say the use of John Madden helps. He may be the most recognizable, but not sure about the most knowledgeable.

"if you go out like a wet towel, you cant cry foul"...your thoughts on ronaldo, then?

Errr...which Pro Evo are you referring to Simon? Surely not 2008...if you say 5 or maybe even 6 I might agree, but last year's was crap.

Sorry Gaffer, that second video is FIFA 08. It's not a trailer from EA, it's some twat doing a poor voice-over and scoring two free kicks with Lampard. Typing in "FIFA 09" on You Tube doesn't always give you great results, eh? And the others are right, it's not early September, it's October 3rd most places in Europe and October 14th stateside. September 11th is the demo date for XBOX 360 and PS3, though, so there's that...

Geez Kartik you keep fishing for someone to say something insulting...No matter what, you always find what you're looking for.

It just seems like there is an underlying assumption that there is something wrong with the American view on sports--a tired argument, sure, but what exactly is wrong/peculiar about our sporting tastes? It's basically negative American exceptionalism. I have a hard time being shamed into accepting being American means I am inherently naive/incorrect about my views on sports. In the same way that other cultures follow cricket or rugby, Americans like the NFL and MLB. No crime, just different tastes. Incidentally, I do follow the USMNT, admittedly not as closely as Liverpool, but I watch when I can and enjoy it as a fan of US sports in general.

Insulting my country and nationality is not a great way to get me to agree.