Football

Time expired, here:

More Italian than the Italians.

What a player.

Good job dude, now it's clear that the only thing left to invoke are the gods.

Look for the sheepskin overcoat.

cccdefg...?

No sign of Clive but good to see Hitler was a Chelsea fan...

Makes a lot of sense.

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Look, here I also found Himmler on the right and Lurch from the Addams family on the left.

Racist Captain slip's® idol, innit.

Thanks all for the wishes. Here some stuff top cheer y'all up:

"Comolli recently did an interview talking about how the likes of Henderson and Downing were signed because of the chances created numbers were similar to David Silva et al. Anyone with fucking eyes can tell you how stupid that use of stats was."

"Aware that numbers mattered to FSG's vision for the club, Edwards appointed Ian Graham as Liverpool's director of research. Holder of a PhD in theoretical physics, Graham had developed a computer programme designed to add discriminative value to player performance statistics provided by companies such as ProZone.

When Rodgers, a scout or an agent suggested Liverpool sign a particular player, Edwards would have the player's numbers run through the Graham model. If the computer said no, the deal was off.

When Red Bull Salzburg were looking for a buyer for Sadio Mane in the summer, Liverpool were one of the clubs approached. Graham's analysis indicated the Senegal international wasn't good enough, so Mane ended up at Southampton instead (paid for with a fraction of the money Rodgers channelled to the South Coast club for Adam Lallana, Dejan Lovren and Lambert).

Mane's new club currently sit fifth in the league table, five points ahead of Liverpool."

"Edwards' backing of a "moneyball" approach and Rodgers' limited knowledge of non-Premier League players has led to several standoffs.

Oussama Assaidi and Nuri Sahin were Edwards' men whom Rodgers assented to signing then hardly used in their preferred positions.

After seven league appearances in five months, Sahin's loan was terminated. The Turkey international ended the 2012-13 season playing a Champions League final for Borussia Dortmund.

Assaidi, recently identified by Raheem Sterling as his most skilful team-mate, per Sky Sports, was permitted a total of 83 minutes in the league before being loaned to Stoke City for the last two seasons.

In their first summer working together, Edwards pushed for Fiorentina centre-back Matija Nastasic to be recruited. Rodgers wanted a player with Premier League experience, but during the standoff, Manchester City bought the Serb instead.

Nastasic was named Manchester City's Young Player of the Year during his first season in England, while Liverpool still hasn't found a reliable central defender."

For another Premier League manager whose club also utilised the Graham model, part of that comes as no surprise.

"That guy was a serious nerd," he says. "And the program was ridiculous. The parameters were set from his own view of what a defender, midfielder or attacker should do. They were ludicrous and inaccurate."

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Spunkallyourmoneyball?

So what?

Mane's new club currently sit fifth in the league table, five points ahead of Liverpool.

Neglects to mention that he's only a bit part player at Southampton and has scored few goals. Also that Nastasic lost his place (to Demichelis?) and was quickly deemed surplus to requirements at City, so it seems a bit weak to hold up these two players as shining examples of Liverpool's failings in the transfer market when they'd also most likely be used to illustrate the same point had Liverpool signed them.

Stoke

http://www.chelseasupportersgroup.net/2014/12/driver-on-the-wings-weather-for-stoke-city-v-chelsea-3/

Jesus, Clive, you really have putted al your effort and knowledge in that script.

You just forgot the green table and how good, and specific, you are for the raising time.

http://fallondfloor.com/

Now I have to go out, later i will read it again and eat all all all of it.

quick thought, we're playing Burnley on the weekend, and although they've moved out of the relegation places with a better run of results recently, was wondering whether Sean Dyche was on the hot seat? It seems managers promoted with teams are on the short leash, as premier league survival is deemed more important than sticking with the manager that got you there, even if that means being relegated.

Was thinking about this because of that feature that the guardian did on eddie howe, where the consensus from the thinkers (I use the term advisedly) below the line commenting seemed to be he could get bournemouth into the premier league and then would be booted out midway through as they got a shoeing trying to adjust to being in the big leagues. Obviously there's no assurance that bournemouth are going to be promoted, but does that mean any young english manager should be wary of getting his team into the premier league, if all that will happen is he'll be kicked out for someone older with a history of fighting relegation..

Hold on, is Stoke in the Black Country? I though that was Birmingham and it's satellites. Or is that part of the joke to piss them off? I would have though promoting Stoke to the Black Country would actually be quite flattering for them.

When a team is promoted they have to buy players capable of competing at the higher level. No surprise that the same is often true for the manager.

but then none of the younger managers ever get the chance to grow with their team or to prove they are capable of competing at the higher level.

plus we're not talking world class managers coming to take over the newly promoted sides are we?