''Soccer'' 2017-2018

[John Ossie]

Sounds a bit like you may have some form of claustrophobia there John. I hope it's not too bad/common . Obviously, I can understand the scouse perspective when it comes to terracing and other related areas of safety at matches. What has been implemented in other countries, and that West Brom had the guts to attempt here, is a country mile away from the old, dangerous deathtraps that I remember as a child though. We all know the real, underlying factors that contributed to that dark day in 1989. There was a LOT more to it than standing up at the match.

Geez, seems like all you need to do is bag a couple of hat-tricks these days and they're linking you with either Barcelona or Real Madrid. There is one way that English clubs could nip the dominance that the two Spanish giants currently enjoy in the transfer market in the bud. It would stop all this eternal poaching to Spain that's currently happening but would mean pissing a lot of people off in the domestic game and probably isn't worth it though.

The two teams to avoid in the Champions League are Madrid and Bayern. Anyone else and Liverpool have a good chance of reaching the final. Oh God....

I do tend to avoid crowded areas, like I won't get on a crowded bus for example.

And yeah, we all know the standing wasn't the issue for 1989. Despite what the S*n, Margaret Thatcher and the Police tried to tell everybody.

What's the one way to nip the dominance in the bud that you're thinking of WillieMorgan?

Please let us get Roma, please let us get Roma, please let us get Roma

[WillieMorgan]

What's the one way to nip the dominance in the bud that you're thinking of WillieMorgan?

Well, and I don't think for a second that this will actually happen, it would mean overhauling the current make-up of the Premier League.

Our top clubs are given the leeway to strike up their own, separate, worldwide TV deals. That's how Barcelona and Real Madrid operate. Although they are members of La Liga they have the clout to sign their own global TV deals, which are worth more than the rest of La Liga combined. More people around the world want to watch Barcelona than, say, Eibar or Real Sociedad. Just like more people want to watch Manchester United and Liverpool play than AFC Bournemouth. The two Spanish giants can access vast wealth through their TV deals that are unavailable on the same scale to our clubs. Just think how much money United could earn through TV if they adopted the 'sod everyone else' attitude that Real Madrid and Barcelona share.

That's where the anger would come from. To give our clubs the leverage to compete financially with the Spanish would mean ripping up the collective business structure that the Premier League currently operates by. Not gonna happen.

Some players would still rather go and play in Spain. The above change would create more of a financial parity between a club like Liverpool and Real Madrid though and make this kind of annual poaching less common. There is less financial incentive for a player to move.

[John Ossie]

I see. Well I agree that I can't see it ever happening and I could see it pissing off the smaller clubs but it would be a way to stop the poaching that Madrid and Barcelona are able to currently do at will.

In other football related news, Wolves are one win away from a return to the Premier League which, given previous history, is not good news for Jurgen Klopp

In case you don't get the joke, in 2004 Houllier got sacked after Wolves were in the Premier League, Hodgson got sacked in Wolves' first season back in the Premier League, Dalglish was sacked despite winning the League Cup the following season in what turned out to be Wolves' last season in the Premier League...At least until August

[John Ossie]

Well, we have Roma in the Semis. Probably the best outcome in terms of trying to get to the Final, won't be easy of course but I'm happy with the draw considering. And Arsenal have Atletico Madrid in the Semis of the Europa League which is the toughest they could've gotten, should be a cracker for the neutral though.

[WillieMorgan]

Well, we have Roma in the Semis. Probably the best outcome in terms of trying to get to the Final, won't be easy of course but I'm happy with the draw considering. And Arsenal have Atletico Madrid in the Semis of the Europa League which is the toughest they could've gotten, should be a cracker for the neutral though.

Oh God, the stars seem to be aligning just like they did in 2005. Heaven help us all .

Arsenal were pretty lucky last night. They went into the match with a cavalier, 'hey, we're already through, let's take it easy' attitude. They only started playing properly when they went 2-0 down and performed a late rally. Could have been a bad night for them that.

Who have we all got this weekend? United are at home to West Brom.

[John Ossie]

Perhaps. They MAY be aligning. I'm not getting ahead of myself just yet...

I didn't see the Arsenal game but I know they were 2-0 down at one point which made it 4-3 on aggregate for a little bit. It was a bad night for Lazio and RB Leipzig fans after their results. Arsenal should breath a sigh of relief that they didn't go through that embarrassment. Having said that, Atletico Madrid were lucky also based on the score what with them losing 1-0 on the night and going through 2-1 on aggregate.

Liverpool are at home to Bournemouth. I'll be positive and say 3-0. Feeling good about this weekends games.

Edit: Come on Baggies! Boing, boing!

[WillieMorgan]

Perhaps. They MAY be aligning. I'm not getting ahead of myself just yet...

I didn't see the Arsenal game but I know they were 2-0 down at one point which made it 4-3 on aggregate for a little bit. It was a bad night for Lazio and RB Leipzig fans after their results. Arsenal should breath a sigh of relief that they didn't go through that embarrassment. Having said that, Atletico Madrid were lucky also based on the score what with them losing 1-0 on the night and going through 2-1 on aggregate.

Liverpool are at home to Bournemouth. I'll be positive and say 3-0. Feeling good about this weekends games.

Edit: Come on Baggies! Boing, boing!

You know me John. I don't like making predictions like that in case I get egg on my face. Should be a comfortable home win though.

One more win and Bournemouth are pretty much safe, so hopefully that will be this weekend .

[FluffySheep]

Roma certainly won't be pushovers for Liverpool. Winning 3-0 against Barca is no mean feat and they did win their group with Chelsea and Athletico Madrid in it. I actually think Liverpool would've been better off drawing Bayern, but I do hope Liverpool make the final.

Swansea v Everton tomorrow. Another game where we could really do with 3 points. Jordan Ayew should be back so hopefully the performance will be massively improved over the West Brom game last weekend.

[DebkoX]

Roma certainly won't be pushovers for Liverpool. Winning 3-0 against Barca is no mean feat and they did win their group with Chelsea and Athletico Madrid in it. I actually think Liverpool would've been better off drawing Bayern, but I do hope Liverpool make the final.

Swansea v Everton tomorrow. Another game where we could really do with 3 points. Jordan Ayew should be back so hopefully the performance will be massively improved over the West Brom game last weekend.

Ayew could be crucial for you.

[FluffySheep]

Ayew could be crucial for you.

Definitely. I'm amazed at how well he's doing for us. When we signed him I had low expectations of him but he can actually change games for us now.

[FluffySheep]

Thank you Chelsea!

[WillieMorgan]

No doubt my Huddersfield Town supporting local pub landlord is over the moon right now following his teams 1-0 home win against Watford. He'll be on his way home right now.

That puts Town on 35 points which could well be enough. Their last four games are hellish so they'll certainly be hoping that they've done enough to stop up.

[DebkoX]

No doubt my Huddersfield Town supporting local pub landlord is over the moon right now following his teams 1-0 home win against Watford. He'll be on his way home right now.

That puts Town on 35 points which could well be enough. Their last four games are hellish so they'll certainly be hoping that they've done enough to stop up.

Hopefully they have. Would be nice to see Mounie hit form again tbh.

[DebkoX]

Definitely. I'm amazed at how well he's doing for us. When we signed him I had low expectations of him but he can actually change games for us now.

And he scored!

[WillieMorgan]

Hopefully they have. Would be nice to see Mounie hit form again tbh.

I think they've done enough. West Brom will be one of the three relegated teams for sure, and I'm pretty sure at least one of the other teams in the bottom three will also fall through the trapdoor. All Huddersfield Town need to do is play as well as they can over their last four games (A nightmare run though - Everton, Manchester city, Chelsea and Arsenal. Ouch) and pray that they've done enough to prevent being the third team to go down.

Amazing stuff from Craven Cottage. Brentford scored an equaliser in the 94th minute to get a 1-1 draw with Fulham. The draw confirms Wolves promotion to the Premier League next season. Incredible scenes. I've been watching it.