Will AMN be the next "Gnarbry"? Given how the situation is between Arteta and him, I don't see a way back at Arsenal for him. He has the size and abilities to be coached to become a good, useful midfielder. But, he has lost interest with Arteta's Arsenal. And Arteta is clearly unhappy with him. AMN is likely to leave in the summer.

AMN isn't in Gnabry's class. It's fantasy to think of him banging in Champions League hat tricks for example. He's a moderately promising quite young player who got a run in the team as a makeshift right back, with varying levels of success.
If he can't be professional enough to get to training on time show him the door. Look at how Arteta has treated Saka, Nelson and Nketiah for instance- he obviously thinks these guys are putting in maximum effort for the team and the club. Anything less is unacceptable.

Good scrap so far between American's boys and Athletico.

Being able to get back off the ship is going to be tricky.

Watching liverpool v Atletico, shows the distance to the top we’ve got to do. Game being played at a ferocious pace but with no little skill in first touch, crisp quick passing and movement. Both teams well drilled in their system, and both teams happy to play long when needed, the crucial thing when they do go long is they get the midfield up to win the second ball. If you pump it 70 yards, it’s headed 20 yards clear but you pick up the second ball you’ve still moved up the pitch and passed the high press.

Didnt know which way I would go but really would like to see Atleti win this. They’ve put a little gobshite upfront who’s doing nothing but yap pointlessly at Van Dyke’s heels. Have they got whatsisface the tall striker who used to be at Chelsea. They need to stick him in the centre circle to get to their clearances, try to hold it up and link with Joao felix. They nearly won it with the last kick of the game!!! Come in Simeone what have you got. Fully expect Liverpool to get the goal they need because, unfortunately, they’re a class outfit with the best work ethics I’ve seen for decades.

Liverpool think they've won it, now Athletico score! Brilliant game.

Morata, that’s who I couldn’t remember, he’s coming on now, but Felix off. I shouted involuntary when Atleti scored.

Boom! Llorente!! Liverpool need 2 now

Morata instrumental. Im claiming that!

Poor old Liverpool

I remember what my father said the night Reagan won the election of Carter. "they chose Barabas"
Seems like Biden will likely be the nominee and unless the virus and other factors spiral us into a recession, I think Trump will probably beat him.
Sanders was leading in the first few weeks but the entire party is against him. They fear him more than Trump. Truly. Sanders is fighting for the direction and soul of the party. Trump wins, the establishment Democrats tied to big Pharma, etc, many of the same groups as their opposition party, they stay in power. Sanders gets the nomination they lose power and they'd rather see Trump win and they retain power than the Sanders wins the election and he ushers in a new era of progressives.
Yes, I believe that.

And Morata seals it good job Ash

And another goal just to rub it in. So interesting to see what mentality and psychology of the score does for a performance. If you can do it when you think you have to, why not before?

Liverpool not invincible and went out of the league cup, fa cup and champions league at an earlier stage that Arsenal’s invincibles.

Obviously that’s a bit tongue in cheek and they’re still a fantastic team. No doubt their fans will blame Adrian and their bad luck that Alisson was injured but that would ignore 2 things, 1) it was Liverpool a d Klopp’s choice to have Adrian as a back up GK and 2) VVD, Trent, Robertson, Mané, salah, firminho have been injury free and play every single game for the last 2 years.

UK evidently stepping up the COVID-19 response to 'delay' tomorrow. Football will be stopped.
What would be hilarious would be abandonment of the PL season with no winner!! What would that make it, 31 years for Liverpool?

Come May at seasons end Liverpool may find themselves having a wee bit of an anticlimactic ending. They will have won the title weeks before hand. Their not winning any of the other cups will be seen as having a 'what if ' year. Yes, there will be celebrations and scouse fans will be overjoyed but unlike us they will be seen as under performing by some. Even if they go the rest of the season unbeaten and win every match.

We were never expected to win any other trophy in 2004. Maybe the FA cup we had a fair shot but we kept drawing tough sides (Chelsea, Man Utd) and we weren't expected to do well in the CL either or at least well meaning to win it or reach the finals. It was more hopeful than anything else.

Liverpool the other hand seemed destined for even all 4 trophies. A bit of let down to some they are not even in the final of any.

My Pool friends have been very quiet lately. Wonder why?

...and travel from Europe banned for 30 days. I think (not certain) UK travel is exempted from the travel ban. Special relationship probably...lol.
Markets in a spiral down. The 'Black Swan' event that some said could happen.

The curious thing is the lack of cases in some areas around the globe that has much larger contact with Chinese nationals. Thailand, sub Saharan Africa, Philippines?

I see Klopp is bitter about the way Atletico played. He seems to forget how many games Liverpool have had a lot of luck or referees decisions this year. I m hoping they lose another EPL game before the end of the season to just make them nothing special as winners of the EPL.

Yes, how dare Athletico not play 'proper football', 'stand deep and have counter attacks'. Very unfair of them not to roll over and play into their opponents hands. Perhaps he wants Simeone to offer a public apology.

Atletico provided entertainment for the neutral; lots of it in fact. It was thoroughly enjoyable watching a skilful battle between two opponents using differing styles. In fact it was more complex than that because Atletico kept changing their approach. It certainly wasn’t a simple park the bus job.

Klopp needs to be reminded that football is nothing without entertainment.

I probably missed Klopp come out and say the same things when we went out of Europe to them 2 years ago. He was probably laughing at us. I hate it when they do it to us but watching and hoping for Simone’s team to knock them out was fun. The last goal to end their unbeaten home run was priceless. So many records within reach.

Now for a team to dent Pool's 100% home EPL record

My son tapes and watches PL goals on Sky. Watching a bit now before he goes to school it’s arsenal chelsea down the years.

Whilst he wasn’t perfect, often maligned and never Fulfilled his potential my goodness did Theo Walcott provide some goals and decisive moments.

Great team but as I said last weak they are a busted flush for this season. They will win the league easily because of their fantastic form before Christmas nut since then they have been mediocre. Playing a high line is high risk especially against good teams.

That would be so funny. Far preferable to playing games behind closed doors, in my view.

Maybe we should start a petition

Whilst playing games behind closed doors would seem an obvious solution, in reality what would happen if a player or club official tested positive for COVID-19 and the club had to be quarantined and couldn't play another game for at least two weeks (a la the City game). Games could be delayed and delayed.

It looks to me like we are just at the beginning of the upswing in cases in the UK as well, and who knows how long the epidemic will last. Presumably until the virus either dies out naturally, mutates into something less virulent or a vaccine or treatment is identified (which is probably at least 12-18 months away unless someone stumbles upon an existing medication or treatment protocol that works).

The government should call a halt to the season and say this season is null and void. Scousers don't vote Tory anway and they can lock down all those Manchester constituencies.

Breaking news that 3 players at an as yet unnamed PL club displaying symptoms, and the whole squad being tested.....

Need to get Bernards mate to tell them they are over reacting the big sissy’s

Point him towards Leicester City.

Awhile ago it was mentioned that there seemed to be no info in regards to the Philippines. Well that's changed. Manilla is now on total lockdown, all air travel in-out stopped, any and all public gatherings banned, all schools closed for a month. This from Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte.

Must be quite a stretch for him to be so hard-line and authoritarian...

Whilst I don’t think this is in any way something to be taken lightly, there is the hint of media driven fear politics in all this, and we’ve seen the results fear politics have on peoples behaviour and voting patterns. I saw the Taoiseach (Irish PM) making the usual Covid-19 announcement and thought wait wasn’t he voted out last month? Like a war it could be a useful distraction for some, not to downplay the crisis in anyway. Just to say people generally and politicians remain cynical and opportunistic and 100% some people will be using this for gain.

Have you looked at empty shelves and not thought some companies might just be seeing the upside?

I'm very familiar with the Philippines. Probably the 2nd most country I've visited outside America. At the places I stay, I'd guess at least half were Chinese nationals. Mostly young people from there. So, it makes sense.
Still for a country with so many thousands of Chinese coming in, they "only" have 49 cases, which is surprising.
https://www.rappler.com/nation/254134-d ... ch-11-2020
In theory they should be on par with Iran and Italy. Logic dictates that.
Less than 50? They should consider themselves extremely lucky. They are taking the precaution of keeping it that low instead of reacting as Iran has when its gone to epidemic stages.

I don't want to sound like I'm downplaying the seriousness of the situation for those people affected, but I agree with your comments Ash.

I think some people have lost their rationale and have allowed the media hype and social media to inform their opinions, instead of using common sense and reading scientific advice.

For example, a post purporting to come from a doctor in Japan, offering seemingly sensible advice about coronavirus, has also come from doctors in Germany, China, Spain and Italy is circulating widely on Facebook. It's a fake post, and there are lots of them about. (Read Ben Elton book "Identity Crisis" for an idea how Facebook, Twitter etc is being used to manipulate public opinion on a frightening scale, and for often sinister purposes.)

4800 people worldwide have died from Covid-19 since the first cases were identified at the end of November in China, the vast majority have been elderly with underlying health conditions. Obviously not good news for them, but WHO estimates that 290,000 to 650,000 people die from the flue each year. The Swine Flu pandemic of 2009 took 575,000 lives.

So far, 23-24 Feb has seen the highest number of deaths from Covid-19 in a day at 156 globally. This compares to daily rates of death worldwide: 26000 from cancer, 25000 heart disease, 4400 diabetes, 2000 suicides, 1200 mosquitoes, 1200 murders, and 400 from snake bites. (Figs from Fullfact.org)

I understand people are worried, but a sense of perspective seems to be missing.

Wow. Heck of a goal from Ighalo. Brilliant skill to control the ball and superb finish. Looks like a really good acquisition.

Is this fake? I’m persuaded.

I am writing to you from Bergamo, Italy, at the heart of the coronavirus crisis. The news media in the US has not captured the severity of what is happening here. I am writing this post because each of you, today, not the government, not the school district, not the mayor, each individual citizen has the chance, today to take actions that will deter the Italian situation from becoming your own country’s reality. The only way to stop this virus is to limit contagion. And the only way to limit contagion is for millions of people to change their behavior today.

If you are in Europe or the US you are weeks away from where we are today in Italy.

I can hear you now. “It’s just a flu. It only affects old people with preconditions”

There are 2 reasons why Coronavirus has brought Italy to it’s knees. First it is a flu is devastating when people get really sick they need weeks of ICU – and, second, because of how fast and effectively it spreads. There is 2 week incubation period and many who have it never show symptoms.

When Prime Minister Conte announced last night that the entire country, 60 million people, would go on lock down, the line that struck me most was “there is no more time.” Because to be clear, this national lock down, is a hail mary. What he means is that if the numbers of contagion do not start to go down, the system, Italy, will collapse.

Why? Today the ICUs in Lombardy are at capacity – more than capacity. They have begun to put ICU units in the hallways. If the numbers do not go down, the growth rate of contagion tells us that there will be thousands of people who in a matter of a week? two weeks? who will need care. What will happen when there are 100, or a 1000 people who need the hospital and only a few ICU places left?

On Monday a doctor wrote in the paper that they have begun to have to decide who lives and who dies when the patients show up in the emergency room, like what is done in war. This will only get worse.

There are a finite number of drs, nurses, medical staff and they are getting the virus. They have also been working non-stop, non-stop for days and days. What happens when the drs, nurses and medical staff are simply not able to care for the patients, when they are not there?

And finally for those who say that this is just something that happens to old people, starting yesterday the hospitals are reporting that younger and younger patients – 40, 45, 18, are coming in for treatment.

You have a chance to make a difference and stop the spread in your country. Push for the entire office to work at home today, cancel birthday parties, and other gatherings, stay home as much as you can. If you have a fever, any fever, stay home. Push for school closures, now. Anything you can do to stop the spread, because it is spreading in your communities – there is a two week incubation period – and if you do these things now you can buy your medical system time.

And for those who say it is not possible to close the schools, and do all these other things, locking down Italy was beyond anyone’s imagination a week ago.

Soon you will not have a choice, so do what you can now.

Please share.