Dr. Gonzo

Tbf it looks like she's just following the news story and tbh the updates she's given us have been better than any of the news reporting I've seen on the spread of the virus. And I don't think posting graphs that demonstrate it's got a lower mortality rate than SARS indicate she's desperate for it to some global pandemic wiping us out

Still blows my mind how much he's played for you this season (granted your midfield injuries are pretty bad so I guess it's not that surprising). He's a player that's really good at looking busy without actually doing anything. If he had an English name, like Andrew Pearson, he'd be at a midtable championship club or some shite like that. No idea how he's at Man Utd tbh. Whichever manager was responsible for bringing him in should feel a bit bad that they're a football manager.

Alisson’s done more baptisms in the last 3 months than he’s conceded goals

Does anyone remember when Jermaine Defoe bit Javier Mascherano while Mascherano was playing for West Ham. Defoe only got a yellow card for the bite. When you compare him to Suarez, do you think there was a bit of “racism” (more like xenophobia) in terms of how the FA treated the two incidents?

I think we might be the best side in the world, but yeah I think it’s possible any of the sides left in the CL can beat us or anyone else in the CL out over two legs. It’s the CL ffs we’ve seen favourites fail all the time, basically every year. I don’t even think league form has anything to do with how you do in the CL. It’s a mixture of the quality of the sides, the tactics of the manager; and the mentalities of the players. Idk how anyone could write off Real Madrid, genuine European royalty, when they’ve also got a manager that’s won the tournament 3 years in a row back at the helm.

So do I have to apply for a new passport now?

I started watching The Expanse last night. First episode was pretty confusing, but I'm interested to see what's going on. I imagine more of it will make more sense as I watch more of it.

He's still very young for a keeper. You've got a young side with a young manager, I feel like howlers are a given this season.

It was from a journalist that's got a pretty decent track record (granted with us) though, rather than just ordinary twitter bollocks. Not all twitter sources are equal, obviously

I saw a tweet last week from someone saying Chelsea were considering selling Kepa in this upcoming summer and looking to replace him with Nick Pope. Which tbh, I think is a bit weird as I'm pretty certain Pope's statistically one of the worst performing keepers in the league this season going off this: https://statsscoreindex.com/20200114/stats-perform-goalkeeper-rankings-jan-15/ - and that's while playing behind 2 flat rows of 4 most of the time at Burnley. Would be a bit of a worry if you put him behind a side that plays more progressive football, like Lampard's goal is with Chelsea. It's probably just twitter bollocks though.

Hasn't Lampard publicly come out and said Kepa needs to improve on the basics?

Stranger things have happened. If being a much better side was all that mattered in CL football, 2005 would have gone a lot differently. We would have been knocked out by Juventus. Or Chelsea. Or Milan would have beaten us in the final. Sides with quality coaches and quality players - which I'd say most CL sides that got out of the group stages are (if not all of them tbh). And this is Real Madrid. Have you seen how many goals they've conceded in their league this year? 13 fucking goals, it's an incredible defensive record. And Madrid with Zidane have a pretty remarkable record in knockout competitions, especially in the CL - winning it 3 times back to back. Tbh, I fully expect Real Madrid to go through.

Brb starting a fashion thread where literally every picture in the thread is of some sort of absurd clothing getup that no person could in good conscious recommend another person should wear.

West Coast & Chicago it looks like. Delta & American Airline stopping all flights to/from China.

That approach of the right players at the right price at the right time has been Klopp's approach. Sometimes though, when a club knows you're exclusively in for your player... they can squeeze a bit more out of you, as we found with Virgil (granted, getting caught tapping him up probably hurt our case ). Assuming pressure doesn't mount on Lampard, which I fear it will because it's Chelsea, but assuming pressure doesn't start piling up with Chelsea's issues and the lack of investment... I think this is the correct approach. Those specifically chosen players (although there should always be backups - Salah was a B option for Klopp... but what a second choice, because he was still identified as a particular player that'd take us up) are the players that'll improve Chelsea pretty massively as they're bedded into the squad. But there's always little overall tweaks and improvements that can be made with the current crop of players, who aren't bad, they just need to have errors coached out of them. And fixing those errors and the whole squad getting good at consistently doing the basics right means that overall there's more consistency in that side and that little tweak translates to a bit of steady gradual improvement. I think overall that's better for Chelsea's long term prospects of success and it's more sustainable (and a better use of Chelsea's enormous resources) to only spend big on the players the club has spent a long time identifying and making sure they fit in with the more positive approach Lampard is trying to instill at Chelsea. I just hope they give him a fair shake, considering how he's still pretty new to management - especially at this level. I fear one bad transfer window from Lampard and the Chelsea board will go back to their instinct of sacking the manager.

Yeah I thought that was the funniest bit. I'd worry about the other 5 nights in Europe after the first 2 against Real Madrid, personally. It's not like Real Madrid have a history of being shite in the competition, and they've just got Zidane back this season - a man who's won the fucking thing 3 times in a row. And even if they do get passed Madrid, which is for sure possible because City have a great side... but I don't think it'll be easy because it's Real Madrid in Europe, I wouldn't worry about the matches that come after the quarter final until after those 2 legs of the quarter final are over. It's the Champions League, I don't think there's an easy path to the final or winning it. They're some of the strongest sides in Europe left remaining, and even the sides that are having a hard time domestically usually turn up and try to give their all in the CL. And upsets happen all the time in the tournament.

Apparently this bit of skill and getting fouled got you the free kick for the goal. And I’d never have expected that. Because while Messi sometimes plays in the false 9, Lingard has truly mastered playing as a false footballer. Seeing him do something actually impressive looking is strange

If you think it'll help you not get infected and you're legitimately worried, go for it - who cares if you're the only white guy doing it? Better than getting ill with something that might kill you or your family.

First reports of a person to person spread in the US just now.

I'm not surprised. It's our best CB pairing with an incredible goalkeeper behind them.

I did not watch the semi-final between City and United... but I did just see this and it makes me go "what the fuck, is that Lingard?" https://streamable.com/ljir0 Lionel Jesse

The original picture one of those iconic images when you look at pictures of Liverpool before our time:

I mean as a Wirral lad, who's family and loads of friends are back there... I'm obviously going to be biased against wanting people sick with a disease that's been killing people around the Wirral. But yeah, I'm sure it's got some sort of legitimate reason based on our medical facilities. Or at least I fucking hope it does. I think with my granddad passing and my gran being old... me hearing this news has just given me something new to worry about in the back of my mind. At least until all of this blows over.

Ah fuck, that's awful news. Fucking Tories.

This is the way!