Old Shuck

LAWRO'S PREDICTIONS All kick-offs 15:00 BST unless stated. Norwich City 12:30 Chelsea Norwich got lucky against Newcastle last Saturday. Pukki's wild hoof at the ball in the 1st half would have gone over the stand 99 times out of 100 whilst Newcastle would have got a deserved equaliser through Joelinton's bullet like header had the goalposts at Carrow Road been in the correct position. I don't get the fuss about Pukki. He's got lucky four times this season, he won't do it again whilst the Norwich lads and their mates who make up the team under manager David Fork will struggle against Kerry Dixon's power and the pace of Pat Nevin on the wing. Norwich 0 Chelsea 3

It's maybe not the best of comparisons (OK, it isn't, but indulge me!) but the great Liverpool teams of the late 70's and early 80's were always being refreshed with new signings but they hardly, if ever, took their place in the side straight away, no matter who they were and often had to contend themselves with half a season or more in the reserves before their chance came in the 1st team. This also helped them study the players and work out the best way they could use them. Ray Kennedy was signed from Arsenal as a striker but he eventually featured for both Liverpool and England as a midfielder after his time 'settling in' in their central league side. Webber speaks of focusing on the root, not the fruit-in the case of the squad, new players are putting down roots and settling into all things Norwich before they get a 1st team chance. Roberts might, given his reputation, gone elsewhere and featured straight away. He seems happy to bide his time here but will know that, if and when it comes, he stands out, then whoever he replaces will then have to wait their turn. One of our core strengths is that we are a 25 man squad rather than a starting XI or featuring 18. Looking at Vrancic and co celebrating Pukki's goals on Saturday, that togetherness seems stronger than ever.

That HYS poster stands out amongst the many utter c0cks who post on there by very deliberataly putting in an obvious error in all of his posts so he gets downvotes. BBC HYS has more ****** postimg on it than all the other football forums put together.

Slightly OT but amused at a BBC summing up of the weekend action which had us "thumped" 4-1 by Liverpool yet Chelsea only "lost" 4-0 at Man Utd.

Better him being up front and saying he didn't fancy a move here now rather than deciding it was something he didn't want after he'd signed on the dotted line. He's cost us very little compared to what our outlay might have been if he'd come for the money and then not bothered to put much of a shift in. And we've had a few of those.

Thinking more of Xanadu by Rush than ONJ's....

I forgot Vince's posts, despite blocking him, would still sneak through if someone quoted him-so cheers, Well b back... Typical Vince cobblers mind. Must be a world record for a stuck needle on the record... 92/93 swung on that one game, the comeback and win against Arsenal on day 1. It gave the players the sort of surge of confidence and self belief that clung to them for the rest of that season. I know Liverpool is a nothing to lose fixture and if we lose but play well then yes, its room for hope, regardless. If we get battered then we have the players and coaching staff to turn the negative into a positive thing and they'll sure as hell react in the right way. But what if we were to get a point, or, miracles can happen, managed to win? What would that do for everyone? No one game will ever make a season. But it could help define one. Here's hoping...

Did he say that before or after he and Gray demanded Sian Massey-Ellis be sent to the kitchen to get them a brew?

Looks essential Ricardo, thanks for mentioning it on here-and maximum kudos to Roger as well!

Fair do's Bethnal, he's an excellent shout. Assuming it was a loan shows how much buying a player from Man City comes to registering as a possibility in my mind!!

Garcia a no go as cant sign more than one player from the same parent club.

Mourinho has made a few positive noises about Newcastle in the past-considering he is probably not a coach who would appeal to an elite club right now, I wonder if he thinks they are a club he can rebuild and refashion in his image *IF* funds were available?

Would much rather be running the risk of some hidings in the Premier League than coming out from dark places to champion a 1-0 win at Wycombe in front of 6,000. More to the point so would they. Epic straw clutching from our former rivals.

Got the book and yes, well worth it. But no sign of the DVD yet.

Like Fuzzar I switched to BT from Sky. Decent enough overall package but yes, Sky Sports Main Event is frustrating as their definition of 'main event' isnt always the football. Only got last 20 mins or so of Nations League final for example, as they focused on F1 presentation and interviews. Its £30 a month as well which is insane. Have dropped it for the summer for that reason. Chatted to BT about it in week, he said they charge Sky subscribers up to £32 a month for their sports channels. All a bit **** for tat but they're apparantly trying to thrash out a sensibly priced new deal for same in time for next season whereby BTsubscribers pay a more realistic cost per month for Sky Sports and vice versa.