Jonathan Northcroft
@JNorthcroft
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Sunday Times football correspondent. No, I am not the guy from House of Cards.
Joined June 2012
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Gothenburg, Fergie's finest hour and the time of our lives.
⭐⭐❤️
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First trophy in 40+ years
Set for 3 top ten finishes in 4 years
Saved them from relegation twice
Developed a £100m player
Plucked Bowen from the EFL
Paqueta, Kudus, Soucek.
Leaves with head held high.
A moment that will live with David Moyes forever ✨
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David Moyes has just gone 5 points off the top of the Premier League, 2 points behind Liverpool and 5 above Arsenal. He arrived with West Ham 17th, midway through last season. He has rebooted them, making a transfer profit. He wont get much of the credit he utterly deserves.
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Manchester United have been one of the worst clubs at selling - but getting £30m for Dan James was extraordinary business.
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Club owned by billionaire tax exile grabbing taxpayers' money to save a few quid during coronavirus, while CEO trousers £7m, might be a new football low.
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Getting Thiago for less than Leeds paid for Rodrigo is further proof that Michael Edwards should be locked up.
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West Ham were a point off relegation and had won 2 games in 14 when Moyes arrived at the end of Dec 2019. His net spend is £69m across four windows. The club is unrecognisable now. Beating such a brilliant Liverpool side is another raising of the bar. What a job he's doing.
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What Phil Jones has been through, mentally and physically, emotionally and personally, to get on that pitch today makes him an absolute champion. All the best to him. The Jones 'jokes' are mindless - and boringly old. When his body is right, he can really play.
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Good job Gareth didn't pick Trent Alexander-Arnold. Wouldn't want a player with 'defensive frailties' in this flawless team.
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Burnley's average weekly wage (£18k/w), is less than the day rate of a number of top PL players.
Fourth, 4pts off United, 3 ahead of Spurs, with Sean Dyche producing 5 England debutants in the last couple of years.
The country should be celebrating them.
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No idea why Manchester United haven't gone for Youri Tielemans. Young, v good character, adapted to the PL, two footed, can create from deep or high up, can play all the midfield roles. Ok, not the fastest, but a technician - and they need those.
Would it just be too logical?
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The world has changed. One minute's applause has taken over from one minute's silence etc. Personally, feel that cancelling football is just the game being performative and trying too hard - as always - to find the 'right' gesture. Play and let people mark this their own way.
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What a hire Rangnick could be. Solskjaer restored Manchester United's cultural identity but there's been a lack in terms of their football identity and thinking for so long. He'll bring that, bring on Carrick/Fletcher in their roles and bring an energy and charisma of his own.
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Just read yesterday's Liverpool accounts.
Confirm how, from 1/6/16 to 31/5/18, buying Mane, Salah, VVD, Robertson, Wijnaldum, Ox was funded by sales of Coutinho, Sakho, Benteke, Ibe, Wisdom, Allen,Stewart, Lucas, Ilori etc
How's the Michael Edwards statue coming along?
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Ole's remark about Liverpool's directness is being seen as a jibe but he has some basis - LFC play 3rd most long balls in the PL.
However they're also 3rd best for short passing and 2nd best for total possession.
Actually they're just a remarkably versatile, effective team.
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Antony: not good enough to start, sulks on the bench, comes on and does nothing except a stupid tackle and a childish flap to risk a red card. Manchester United's second most expensive signing.
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Just 21, speaks five languages, studying for a diploma, writes music, sings likes a recording star - and already smashing the PL. As a kid they said he was "trash" but Amadou Onana fought back.
Yet if you think he's inspiring, you should meet his sister.
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Just met a young Czech guy in Prague with a Scottish accent. Asked which part of Scotland he had lived in. He said he's never been but that while he was learning English he was also watching a lot of
@DaftLimmy
He then said "kill Jester"
Can't. Cope.
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I must say, I found all the analysis that a guy with 800 goals was Manchester United's problem to have been a little odd.
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Henderson playing on one leg, Origi on empty.
Trent's brains.
The sheer standards of Alisson + VVD.
Fabinho's telescopic tackles.
The unsung Matip.
Milner.
Mane.
Wijnaldum.
Was in Istanbul and that was the unlikeliest comeback. But as a performance this was Liverpool's best.
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Ole should have gone at last 2 weeks ago. But his contribution to Manchester United remains far greater than the Glazers, Woodward, Judge, Arnold and nearly all of those players put together.
Now it'll be another guy's turn to try and stop the rot.
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Moyes:
Arrived with WHUFC 18th
Finished 13th
Got Arnautovic playing
Found Masuaku's position
Had Reid, Obiang, Carroll, Lanzini, Antonio injured
Cleaned up culture/discipline
Restored work ethic
As owners hid, dealt with their crises
Nae cash
Good luck to the next guy...
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Liverpool are not 'bad champions.' Bad champions get arrogant or lose unity/desire. Not happened. But they do need a refresh. Defenders will return but creatively new ideas are needed. Firmino: 0 home assists in 13 months. Gini: last PL assist, 4/2018. Back ups don't give enough.
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Liverpool are 4-0 up and 23 points clear and still not giving Palace an inch of space or a moment's rest. That's what Klopp - and those players' own professionalism - has built.
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The key word in Liverpool's statement is "transparency." If we are to continue with VAR (and I wouldn't) there has to be an end to the secretive way it works. Conversations between refs and video assistants should be broadcast, like in cricket reviews
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20 years ago Juan Carlos Osorio was an LJMU student, renting a bedroom overlooking Melwood so he could glimpse Liverpool training through his window. Now he has masterminded a mannschafting of the world champions. Love the World Cup's capacity for throwing up stories like that.
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Looking again at Lampard's Chelsea record. P84 W44 D17 L23.
After 84 games at Liverpool, Klopp was W41 D27 L16. He lost to Hull and Leicester in his next three games, leaving him outside the top 4, having finished 8th at end of season he arrived. Would Abramovich have kept him?
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That's what it has come to. Is the skin of Jota's elbow half a millimetre beyond the knee of Konsa? Long check, wee dotted lines, nobody really knows, goal disallowed. Not football as we knew it.
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Took 6 year old daughter to the King Power last night: her first match. We were walking to the turnstile, fans milling, kick off near and she was saying "I think this is a dream!" She didn't stop grinning.
This for Fleetwood reserves in the EFL Cup.
Football's not bad is it?
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Wow. Apart from those Jose Mourinho has been involved in, this has been a season of brilliant, spectacular big games.
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Am on a week off and only just catching up with all the Raheem Sterling stuff. Embarrassed to be part of our media at times like these. Pure stereotyping and bullying. And, of course, not for the first time.
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Suspend the season. Finish it only once it's safe. If that means September, so be it. If that means truncating the 2020-21 season, so be it - there's plenty time to come up with a mechanism/schedule for that. For once don't put ££££ first.
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"Abramovich...has been involved in destabilising Ukraine and undermining and threatening the territorial integrity, sovereignty and independence of Ukraine."
I wonder if Amanda Staveley still feels sorry for him and John Terry still thinks he's 'The Best'?
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Trent A-A only made his U21 debut in September. He has just played his first 45 minutes of World Cup football like an absolute pro. Classy. Assured. What a future he has.
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"It was the lowest I've ever been. I used to come back and be in bits. My head was a mess."
Phil Jones: the true story behind his injury torment, made worse by abuse in the street and criticism from even Rio Ferdinand.
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Keep thinking about this and it's nuts. Tweets made 3 years before he played a game of professional football, when he was 15. Seriously, where does it stop? Does punishment start from the moment five year olds join academies? The FA has enough to sort without policing this stuff.
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Thankfully the world has changed since Kelvin MacKenzie was an influential journalist. Reprehensible, racist, tired old prejudiced tripe.
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First impression of Liverpool: training mode, Klopp more focused about fitness than performance, won't be remotely bothered.
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Jorginho to Arsenal - what a signing. Experience, a winner, can calm the game and keep the ball - yet play the pass through the lines when it's on. Just what a young team chasing prizes needs.
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Lovely metaphor from Daniel Farke about how a team should a approach relegation battle. "Like a vacuum cleaner salesman" - every defeat is like a door slamming but you keep smiling and give the next door your best shot. "Today we sold one vacuum, maybe next week we'll sell three"
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Pogba played well last night. Mature, productive, team-first display. His great close control won a penalty. Following team rules he took it. He ends up almost the only topic of post-match discussion and racially abused. Can't say I missed Twitter on holiday.
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Manchester United back in for Donny van de Beek. Had a move to Real Madrid agreed, but it's now in doubt. Fits Solskjaer's desire for young, dynamic talent and midfield goals. Of Ajax's crop, always looked among the most suited to England.
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City were brilliant last night: Sterling, KDB, VK, Bernardo, Aguero...they were beaten by the finest margin in the craziest game by the best Spurs side in years. If they lose the PL it'll be to one of England's best sides in years. Pep's no failure. It doesn't have to be binary.
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Huge respect to
@sterling7
for confronting this head on. The coverage he points to is institutional racism in a nutshell and overt racism - eg abuse of black players at matches - is where that insidious path leads. Yes, papers and the wider media need to do a whole lot better.
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So, this morning
- Man U fans wished for a Saudi takeover
- some 18th century uber-toff moved closer to leading the country
- clubs voted to give Richard Scudamore the equivalent of 381 years on the national living wage as a present
A bit scared of the afternoon.
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Much to admire in Liverpool's performance tonight but, as an old centre half, kept being drawn to Gomez. Quietly, unobtrusively brilliant. Again. Decision-making + covering pace + aerials + distribution + strength in challenge.
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It's very, dare it be said, peak Fergie Manchester United what Liverpool are doing - play yourself into a season then start piling on the performances in winter as others flag. Speaks of mentality and managerial knowhow
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Trent Alexander-Arnold: a Liverpool ball boy when his club slipped v Chelsea in 2014, now its standard-bearer in all kinds of ways.
"I want people to look at me and believe anything's possible," he says. An hour with a remarkable young man.
@trentaa98
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Roma fans have just attacked Liverpool supporters with belts, outside the Albert. About 20. One guy down getting treatment
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Messi in the Premier League would be a beautiful treat. But I'd like to see Pep coach, not spend, his way back to the biggest prizes.
I want Pep Guardiola to win biggest prizes through coaching, not buying Lionel Messi, writes
@JNorthcroft
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Klopp, Kroos, Stones and 36 of last 39 trophies played for. Some of what Manchester United missed out on while building a 'fat squad' and adult Disneyland.
Like success, decline is never down to one thing but many small decisions. Series on MUFC's fall.
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Liverpool's last 40 league games: w37, d2, l1.
Their last 15 months: English, European, world champions.
And they're still playing as if they've achieved nothing yet.
The comparisons with other champions are for tomorrow - just admire them.
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@MarcusRashford
's feed over the last 10-12 hours is one of the most moving - and for those on the other side, shaming - things you could ever read about this country.
Keep going.
#ENDCHILDFOODPOVERTY
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The beaches are full, shops are reopening but we're still reading about how football fans can't be trusted not to gather outside games? This is such a contradictory country - and never more so, it has seemed, than during this crisis.
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TV only gives you half the picture...up close at Volgograd Arena JH's influence, vocal leadership, way he held others together during England's wobble, was striking.
Onfield Kane is quieter and single minded. He leads through action but not the other stuff. Team needs them both.
Jordan Henderson has shown that he is England’s heartbeat – a second captain, writes
@JNorthcroft
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Ridiculous, pathetic - and a little scary.
Gary Lineker to step back from presenting Match of the Day until agreement reached on social media use - BBC statement
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Manchester City are either innocent and the UEFA process and panel is hideously flawed.
Or they're guilty and using bombastic PR statements to muddy the waters.
Or they're guilty, bombastically guilty - but right about UEFA.
Relieved that at last we're going to find out...
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Unpopular opinion: Dejan Lovren is having a good season.
Really enjoyed meeting this intelligent, passionate, misunderstood player.
Heading a bit misleading - makes him seem full of self-doubt. He's not, but he cares and gets down on himself when he makes mistakes
‘Sometimes I think I am not good enough, but Jurgen Klopp believes in me’
@JNorthcroft
speaks to
@LFC
centre-back Dejan Lovren ahead of the crucial Champions League tie against
@ManCity
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Why the rush to denigrate Atletico Madrid? Liverpool were superb last night...but Atleti got the absolute maximum out of what they had in the game. From 2-0 down, shifted gear, brilliant counterattacks. Resolve then ruthlessness.
Both sides were good, one lost, it happens.
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Used to think others were too quick to call Messi the greatest. Now I think I was too slow.
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Keep re-reading this. It must be missing a couple of paragraphs. The ones containing an apology and sincerity.
Liverpool Football Club can confirm that our involvement in proposed plans to form a European Super League has been discontinued.
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To carry on during the pandemic, football needs humility and self-awareness. Read this several times and can't find an ounce.
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Phillips MOTM, Sterling not far behind - and the captain's armband is passed on by him to Marcus Rashford. Bad day for the knee-booers.
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England deserve to be ahead. Schmeichel doesn't deserve to be behind.
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Martin Jol always said "nothing in football is what it seems". What he meant was that behind the glitz, the game was a lot more amateurish than you could imagine.
What a clown show this $4.2bn Super League of the "world's greatest clubs" has turned out to be.
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Intelligent, generous, honest - and convinced he'll get back to his best. Think he will. Particularly enjoyed listening to him about his journey and the art of defending.
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The quality of this World Cup stays true to the end with the decision to give Modric player of tournament
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Gravenberch: Liverpool got in early and convinced player. Were working on him since April (as per 👇)
He only wanted to sign for them. Powerful pitch by Klopp and club willing to go 'all in' (big fee, 5y contract) did it.
United went late, were less clear
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I voted for De Bruyne, because he is just sublime, the best player in the league, among best England has seen.
But for driving Liverpool harder than anyone, for silencing doubters, for shutting up Matt Hancock - and for playing some very good football, Jordan is a worthy winner.
BREAKING: Jordan Henderson has been crowned the Football Writers' Association Footballer of the Year for the 2019/20 season.
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A reminder that this game we love doesn't actually matter at all.
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In January asked someone at Liverpool how Klopp/Pep Lijnders regard Brewster...
"They adore him. Fuck me. They absolutely adore him."
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Great scoop. However much Ozil has disappointed in these last two years, the PL was richer when he was on song. Losing him, Hazard, Eriksen and David Silva in quick succession has not been good for its quotient of artistry.
EXCLUSIVE: Arsenal & Mesut Ozil have an agreement in principle to terminate contract with immediate effect + end his 7.5yr
#AFC
career. If all goes to plan Fenerbahce expect 32yo to travel this weekend & complete move to
#FENER
as free agent
@TheAthleticUK
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Two performances of serious class from Rodri and Gabriel Jesus. Aged 23 and 22, and neither one of them a big star or glamour name when City signed them. Everyone talks about their money and where it comes from but how they spend it is often brilliant.
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Far be it for a Scotsman to big up England but still reading negativity about how England "haven't played anyone of note". Who is "of note" in Russia? This is not a World Cup of outstanding sides, it's one of meeting the diverse challenges thrown at you and seizing opportunities.
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What happened to "this means more?"
By taking taxpayers' money to furlough staff, Liverpool have acted just like any other profits-first business.
Dispiriting stuff.
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At a time *big* clubs are struggling with transition, look at Leicester.
Lost their spiritual father, 2 Footballers of the Year, half the title team and Harry Maguire. Yet go from strength to strength.
Values, good choices, hard work: Others take note.
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He keeps quiet about these things but an action entirely in keeping with his values...
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Derby off the bottom - incredible resilience, belief and work from
@WayneRooney
, his staff and squad
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Very silly from Klopp. When you start calling out a journalist who has been fair, informed and supportive of your club/regime it just adds to the sense of being embattled.
Wow. Jurgen Klopp has REFUSED to answer a question from
@JamesPearceLFC
because of the recent things he's written about the club 🫣😅
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Fearless, forthright, authentic - and blessed with an exceptional picture of the game. The
@WayneRooney
you see on the pitch is the same as the person off it. As you'll discover in his
@thesundaytimes
columns. Excited to be working with our new signing.
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Liverpool step up interest in Ryan Gravenberch.
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Liverpool's first signing after their last Champions League final was Charles Itandje. This would be a little better than that.
Liverpool will step up move for Lyon’s Nabil Fekir after CL final.
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Mentality, raised standards, de-icer...and Matty Willock. The story of Manchester United's revival under Ten Hag. The rebirth of its football department.
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It seems to me that football, and footballers, are under enormous pressure to engage with the world, reflect, and get it right - especially on the important things.
Whereas those in charge can be ignorant, lazy, disengaged, dismissive, glib.
How did this happen??
had to listen back a few times to check Dominic Raab really said this
"On this taking the knee thing, I don't know maybe it's got a broader history, it seems to be taken from the Game of Thrones, feels to me like a symbol of subjugation and subordination"
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Never heard a manager or player muster any real enthusiasm for the idea of breaking points records. Trophies, yes, going unbeaten, yes. Points, no. Has certainly not been enough of a goal to float Liverpool's boat - very flat, except for Mané
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Remember the old days: when Van Dijk got injured and many predicted a crisis for Liverpool? What we didn't know was Klopp was hiding a world class defender in plain sight. In his midfield. On the remarkable Fabinho: 945 minutes at CB in PL and CL without conceding in open play.
The Brazilian has spent approaching 16 hours deputising as a defender for Klopp in the league and Europe, without the opposition scoring in open play. Van Dijk in disguise? Fabinho has different strengths, writes
@jnorthcroft
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Marc Albrighton moves level with Ronaldo and Bale for Champions League goals in 2016/17. Strange things happening again in Leicester.
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"Your job today is not about touching the ball, it's not about making passes, your job is Pirlo. That's all. Pirlo."
@WayneRooney
on team play and the ultimate team players like Park, who followed Fergie's orders to a T when MUFC beat AC Milan.
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Liverpool back to form. Continue to be impressed by Gomez. Salah/Coutinho dangerous even v such good defensive team. For LFC it'll come
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One of Klopp's finest moments - right to the end of his reign he's showing what a manager he is
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What's more confusing - Xhaka playing like Pirlo or Mbappe playing like McBurnie?
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PSG indeed a reality check for MUFC.
The reality is OGS arrived, tranformed morale, gave the 4 best talents their ideal roles and team a (counterattacking) style that suited them.
What he didn't do was magic Roy Keane and Rio/Vidic back. CM and CB been United's issue for years.
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Whatever you think of FFP and other regs there's growing evidence City owners and execs feel rules simply do not/should not apply to them. That's not good for anyone.
City then don't answer serious questions at all and rely on their loyal fans and others' apathy to protect them
And now, the actual paperwork and correspondence the Spiegel stories are based upon. Remarkable. Man City could simply kill this story by saying these are fake. But they're not, so City can't.
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Interviewed Ryan Babel once. He thought the Sunday Times was connected to the Financial Times and was really angry about a profile in the FT which suggested he didn't know how to boil an egg. One of the stranger conversations I've had with a footballer.
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When you reply "aye go on then" to nice email request to use you in FIFA
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