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It'll be interesting to see how much Barcelona actually want Coutinho. The way to find out of course is to see how many of their cuntish players get wheeled out to say some cringe worthy bullshit like it's destiny or something. Xavi was the worst for that but thankfully he's no longer there to talk shit. If Neymar stuck around he'd obviously be one talking but looks like he's off to PSG. Pique is the other one to watch out for, always been a cunt. Barcelona, always randomly remember what a bunch of crooked cunts they are that get portrayed as the shining light of football. Cunts.

The worldwide Barcelona wank fest is absolutely cringe, all the big clubs are bastards when they have the opportunity to be and it's utterly hilarious that so many people convince themselves that Barcelona vs Real Madrid somehow equates to some good vs evil clash.

I personally don't believe that Neymar would necessarily have a greater chance of winning the Balon d'or at PSG, than he does at Barcelona, whether he's playing with Messi or he isn't. Since Messi has been at Barcelona, many of his team mates have joined him on the podium in the race for the Balon d'or and none of these players(who have left or played for other clubs previously) have been on the podium at other clubs. Eto'o, Suarez and Neymar himself(as well as Xavi and Iniesta of course), just to name a few. Neymar's chances of winning the award are far greater while playing for Barcelona(or Real Madrid) than for any other club in fact. His reputation has massively increased since his move to Spain and most Europeans called him overrated when he was at Santos, whereas the same people rate him highly nowadays. Not to mention the best football he has played at the club is when combining with Messi, so playing with the Argentine certainly doesn't hinder him in the slightest either. He's a top player, one of the best right now for me, although Messi as a whole is a different level and it doesn't matter which club Neymar is at, as this wouldn't change. Going to France is an unambitious, easy route as far as I'm concerned. At Liverpool(a massive club who dwarf PSG and play in a much better league), Suarez was nowhere near the Balon d'or podium, despite being exceptional in his last season for them and playing in a league that is watched by more people worldwide than any other. Yet it only took 12 months to be in contention once joining Barça. Playing around a player of Messi's ability and a club of Barcelona's reputation increases your chances and doesn't decrease them as far as I'm concerned. The man(Messi) has shown in recent seasons that he is more than happy to sacrifice himself in order to drop deep into midfield for the better of the team and this enables players of Neymar's quality to shine and gain a lot of plaudits.Within about 2 years there is a high possibility that Neymar would win the award while at the club, barring he continued to show what he's all about. This transfer is mainly about money and his dad, who makes all his choices for him it appears and is one of the most shady characters involved in football. It has nothing to do with a new challenge, as playing in France is not a challenge. You could understand a move to England, for example, as it's a competitive and well marketed league where he would truly need to work hard to prove himself, just like in Spain(although more so since he wouldn't be playing around players like Messi, Iniesta, Suarez & Busquets). Going to France is not proving yourself. The Brazilian league itself is better than that pile of utter nonsensical shite. I don't begrudge him for wanting a move as not all players are committed to one club, but the choice of club, the timing and reasons for leaving are all questionable. The market is already utterly fucked unfortunately mate when you have clubs buying players like Lukaku for 80 million. He's not even world class, yet is going for near world record amounts. It would be a loss, although at the same time, if he's not committed, then fuck him. Let him go. His father no longer being involved with the club would be a one positive to look at also. Messi is going nowhere either and Suarez is still there. It was always going to be hard to keep all 3 and some people(I remember Balon claiming this several months ago) would even say that having all 3 was becoming a bit of an overkill. Dybala would be an interesting option, as would Coutinho. I rate both players and they would both be well suited to the way the team play.

Prometheus was shite.

VvD has told Pellegrino he wants to leave, Pellegrino has been told to train alone. So he's training... Sans Pellegrino.

Altough there´s no change in rules compared to last year, here they are again: correct predicted score : 3 points correct predicted goal difference, but wrong score, in case the result isn´t a draw: 2 points correct predicted result, but wrong score and goal difference in case the result isn´t a draw or correct predicted draw , but wrong score: 1 point If two participants predict more than 6 matches per matchday identical only the older post will be counted. This season their will be a bonus round, for the points awarded in it see its thread It´s just a game, so enjoy and don´t take it to seriously. Good luck everyone!

That may well be wonderful spin after the event Happy Blue, however, there is no denying someone at your club nailed his knackers to getting Alves in on a free and failed. Alves age n amount of time he is expected to have left, obviously did not matter while City were trying to sign him on a free. So to say it has worked out great for you is only true if you over look the amount of money you have spent on two other right backs\wing backs. Granted money isnt a problem to City, but for me its another example of strange City movement in the transfer window. Not complaining mind, please keep it up

About £100m on a pair of fullbacks. There must be fluoride in the water at Eastlands

I hope Piqué cunts his mouth off so I can have a laugh.

Have we ruled out a turkey baster or the postman?

Surprised she let you in a second time to be honest mate...

The term "lazy" being used is incredibly ignorant. Runs around more than Sanchez who shows bursts of energy and then usually doesn't move if the ball isn't near him. You can maybe call him inconsistently effective but saying "lazy" isn't actually something that holds up. Good news and hopefully this does get done. A player underrated by the simple minded.

But spending 90 million on Lukaku isn't?

Where else will he be allowed to be lazy and still have a sector of the fans think he's world class? Where else will he be paid that amount of money for very sparse moments of incredible talent? His decision is the best one for him and Arsenal are just simply that kind of club.

Feeling pretty shitty tonight, had my last day at my job today and only realised this week how attached I've got to my form group over the last two years, I'll miss them most of all. This is something I'll have to get used to if I plan on teaching for another 40 years I suppose.

Not sure if he's good enough for Champions Leauge but he's been great for us, decent defender and can support the attack (see his wonderful goal against Man City). Wish him only the very best.

This is one of those situations where the player is worth more to the selling club than he is to the buying club. A much bigger fee than that would be overspending for Barcelona while Liverpool are well within their rights to expect more given how important Coutinho is to them. Whether this goes through or not depends on Barcelona deciding that money is no object, like Man Utd did with Pogba and Lukaku, or like we might be doing with Sigurdsson. At this point in their journey under Klopp though, Liverpool selling Coutinho for anything less than a ridiculous fee sends out a negative message. They can certainly improve themselves if they sell him and reinvest the money well, but Liverpool currently have some momentum about them and selling their best player can't be good for them unless they get a proper star player to compensate, rather than three players that bolster their squad well. Saying that, I don't want to contradict myself after my stance on us selling Lukaku, where I've pointed to Bale at Spurs and other examples of people thinking that a club selling their best player would harm them but the club has actually been better off overall. I don't think this is quite the same as a Bale or Lukaku situation, but I admit that I can't and won't try to argue against Liverpool fans believing that if they get enough money from this transfer, they can end up making an overall improvement if the money is spent wisely.

What you're saying is "if I had been under these circumstances I would've done better", which is gratuitous. Committing suicide is a mistake in any case, especially if one has children to support, but to suggest it has to do with courage or cowardice makes it out to be a rational decision, which it is not.

Great player on his day but not really consistent, I feel like a decent scouting team would be able to identify better players for £24m.

£9 is too much for Wilshere. One of the most overhyped players of his generation, can't stay fit and even when he has a pretty full season he flatters to deceive. Mid table player at best and the sooner Arsenal finally get rid of him the better for their sake.

Something's defintely wong with football these days.

Steve Barnes a football manager and part time amateur murder detective