Football

Me neither.

Wasn't last season the lowest point yielding season or something. Don't think I've ever seen a team top the table with 44 points 21 games in.

It seems that normal order has resumed in the PL.

WTF is going on at the Grauniad?

https://www.theguardian.com/football/blog/2017/jan/16/alexis-sanchez-arsenal-pet-labradors

How did this shit get past the sub-editor's spike?

Blue Monday? Someone needs to realise there's no actual science behind it.

Straight Outta Women's Own... 😂😂😂

Pep has got a worse record than Pellegrino at this stage of the season.

As much as I'd like to defend him (Guardiola) you can't argue with that. You hire him to get 5-10% extra points and so far he has failed to do this. It'll be interesting to watch how he and his team are going to react as he has never been in a position like this before.

I blame Corny.

Guardiola is a brilliant and inspirational manager. Sadly for him, his entire training was at Barcelona who were always one of two teams who were in a position to win anyting (OK Athletico sometimes, occasionally, stepped in but in reality it was Barcelona or Real). He took over as manager of Barcelona when they were at their very best. He achieved great things. He went on to Bayern, a team at the pinnacle of Europe and the only team in Germany of any note at that time. He again achieved great things.

He has now come to Man City. An expensively collected group of players; some of the very best in the world. But they are not a team that has dominated anywhere and need to be forged into a team. Unfortunately, there are five other sides in England who are competing for the top slot and, although it was clear this season that it was Man City's to lose, other teams have managed to string results together in a way that Man City have not.

It may be that Guardiola would be better off at PSG.

I'm now very relieved he didn't come to SB... I know everyone was calling it but even I didn't imagine he would've had this rough a ride in the Prem...

I've missed a couple of pages but have we commented on the collapse of the florist takeover, the sacking of the florist manager and them going eight games without a win (the run started with a 3-0 loss at Derby).

Ignore me if this has all previously been covered but it is gloomy Monday and I do like to take pleasure in the misery of others, like @Prole.

😂😭😂

The workaholic Chilean forward has cut a brooding figure recently but finds comfort in the positive vibrations of his labradors Atom and Humber

Interest to learn that Humber is not actually named after his favourite river, but his favourite literary character, Humber Humber.

How's Stones getting on??

*snigger

An expensively collected group of players; some of the very best in the world

And some lemons, as @Tenderloin pointed out yesterday. He's short of decent defensive options.

He has a net spend of £150m. The, I didn't get backed in the transfer market line, won't work for him.

Everton were simply the better team yesterday and I don't recall them being outclassed like that in the PL for a long time.

I'm not saying it should. But he can't replace all the players he inherited in one window. Personally I think his decision to spend money on a keeper was shortsighted, and he splurged a lot of money on Stones, which could go either way, so you can definitely criticise him for some of his transfer spending.

Well it's pretty fucking depressing. Not seen the sun for days, been ill for months and have zero cash.

You should move to Oz...

As Neville pointed out on MOTD2 last night, Stones seems to be getting all the flack yet Otomendi is equally hopeless if not worse

We do have an office on the waterfront in Brisbane

You won't regret it, trust...

Brilliant place for kids as well as adults...

I met him last week. He makes @Chalfie look like a giant.

Agreed to an extent.

Their defensive record is better under Pellegrino with mostly the same defenders. I get it that his emphasis is on offence rather than defence but in the end it's points and goal difference that determine success.

He's there to improve them not to make them worse.
At Chelsea AVB got canned in March.
I expect the sheikhs to be a bit more understanding considering the effort they put in to get their man.

I wouldn't put it beyond them to pull the trigger in 10 months time.

How much did he spend when he took over at Barcelona or Bayern? He inherited players there as well. City had already got one of the most expensive squads in Europe.