itt liverpool not winning things; sandbox i love football

ps alexis!!!!!!!!!1111111111

and c ron is a big bottling fan dan

this is a v. open season, 5 teams still kinda in the race by december

Hmmmmmm. Not really. City are 10 points clear of 5th-placed Chelsea. Looking back, the last four seasons were all closer than this in mid-December. This time last year only 3 points separated the top four and Spurs in 5th were just 7 points back (and Bolton and Sunderland were only 9 points back). The last time the pack were out of contention by mid-December was 2006.

ok but utd have lost their best players (pea and vidic) and i still feel their is a major collapse at city, making those 10 points less of a gap than they seem atm. i think it could be fun up until march (in which utd just run away with it.)

http://30.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lvzzj5Cou11qioxq6o1_250.gif

It all depends on City having a bad patch, but there's no particular reason why they should. They're destroying nearly everyone and it's not because they're in exceptional form imo, they're just a stronger squad of better players playing in line with their ability. Everyone else bar maybe Chelsea is more likely to suffer a dip, and that's only because Chelsea have just had theirs.

They employ Balotelli and you say there's no particular reason?

http://www.101greatgoals.com/gvideos/eden-hazard-v-dijon/

Hazard on how to 'pass it into the goal' commentator cliche. (Totally ruined by the post-goal stadium musics but a fun goal nonetheless.)

He's a good player though. Anyway, haul him off, put on Agüero, sorted.

I don't really know what's going to happen - I feel there's about a 50% chance that City will just pull away and win by >10 points, but there's also a 50% chance things will stay fairly tight for a while. I could see City having a wobble, but I'd be very surprised if they had a total implosion - I can't see them finishing lower than second. I could see United coming anywhere from first to fourth.

all of that sounds about right

That sounds about right. Tomorrow night could be absolutely key actually - on paper it's the hardest game City have left this season(!)

fuck stoke foy & the fa that perpetuate reffing like today's everyone out

deems otm

still feel utd are the team to push city, if there is one

van de vaart's corner in the 1st half was fine wasn't it? i.e. the ball was hanging over the edge of the quadrant? referee in not knowing the laws of the game shocker.

wdn't wholly rule out Spurs yet, wd probly rule out everybody else, unless something is slouching to be born at Chelsea

malaga not going to sell baptista in january

ps fwiw no team that plays like we did in that 1st half gets to complain abt a result tbf

fuck's sake. watching highlights, we should have had damn near double figure penalties.

Unbelievable display from Foy- it's not bias, he just didn't give two fucks about enforcing the rules and that suited the team of yob cunts.

It was the bad karma after the Modric dive.

and the contact with modric is clear and significant imo

xp but in any case

Whether he dived or not, there were plenty of legitimately blown calls in that game. Rough to watch as a neutral; can't imagine if one had an interest in either side.

with a cruel hangover and in front of an unsympathetic crowd of mainly lfc supporters

I took lumps out there today

oof.

wtf the fa really are looking into the towel thing?

Priorities

xp yeah, if you wanna talk about karma.....

strike for vaughan!

robinson- still doing that little jump before conceding from distance

ade's disallowed goal came from this

http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2011/12/11/article-0-0F241F3A00000578-617_468x328.jpg

prompting harry to say

'The linesman, he'll watch it tonight, when his wife's making him a bacon sandwich and he'll think: 'F*** me what have I done there today?'

http://twitpic.com/show/large/7rzanw

http://i.imgur.com/w9EQ4.png

COMMITMENT TO EXCELLENCE

kaboul otm

I avoided the sandbox soccer thread last week, after our (Norwich's) humbling by Man City, but after this weekend I thought I'd pop my head in.

Pretty pleased with that result, even if the referee was appalling (1 blatant handball by Holt, 3 by various Newcastle players - including one in the box and one right on the edge of the box, and a pretty shady red card for Newcastle).

Our next two fixtures look ok too (away to Everton and Wolves, but then home to Tottenham, who I fully expect to destroy us).

Haven't had a chance to watch MOTD yet, so don't have an opinion on the other games yet. Just thought, as the token Norwich fan, I should pop in.

rah!

I dunno how i expect us to react to this tbh, but if you play the two big lads up front you'll get some joy.

☰☰☭☰☰ SHEFFIELD UNITED ☰☰☭☰☰ 5 WINS ON THE BOUNCE ☰☰☭☰☰

You've got to be pretty happy xp, excellent home form is the essential for new clubs imo (same points as undefeated Liverpool, pah).

likely outcome of foy's perf:

FA charge for towel jersey -note that ref refused to deal with timewasting during the match

FA charge for Harry Redknapp for criticising Foy

Three points for execrable Stoke, none for loveable Spurs

Lols at loveable Spurs fans

No charge for despicable cheat Luka Modric

? Missed that one tbh

Diving and that

duplicate message

Don't tell me i need to post the gif again?

should we start a sandbox thread on the categories of fouls that justify your falling over or otherwise?

imo, if someone kicks you on the shin while you're trying to play football, fuck em. Stoke get away with enough.

gif shows a foul in the box, idgi

want to see a gif of woodgate's two-footed slide on ekotto in the first half, tbh, a foul anywhere else on the pitch.

LBI - Is Jetro Willems any good?

I'm prepared to anoint him as the saviour

Less breakable than the Da Silvas you would hope

Had to laugh at Fabio lasting thirty minutes and Rafael sixty in the Palace game. I genuinely can't remember Fabio completing a full match for Utd