lanky_ffc

A bit of Pirlo appreciation? Count me in

Complete novice to all this, but wondering if anyone can point in the direction of streams for 3PM Premier League games (I've got Sky & BT already).

Think he's only had 2 starts in the Premiership this season. Stats are better expressed per minute or per 90 and he's scored or assisted every 156 minutes at this level which isn't terrible. Tbh, I'm more pleased that we've got a manager who's willing to make use of the loan market rather than complain at others who do.

But Paddy Power's Facebook page put that 'the floor is lava' video up that one time, so all of Scottish football is automatically shite all the time.

They can't be that knowledgable if they don't recognise a side that's been in our top tier for over 2 decades. I don't find lower league football in England particularly interesting, but give me a list of teams in the EFL and I could place 95% of them in the correct league.

I've lived in London and can confirm nobody gives a f**k about Scottish football unless they're chucking Celtic or Rangers onto their coupon. Had a few lads in my office who didn't even realise Rangers were playing in League Two.

I've heard from a few places that Hartley takes in a lot of matches in his own time, so hopefully he's already scouting some January recruits.

Delofeu has done a job so far, but I'm still sceptical about whether he's consistently good enough for a team like Barca. His numbers at Milan last season weren't great. Dembele was excellent for Dortmund last year and, in terms of style, is the closest player they could have got to Neymar. He'll come good once he's back. The one thing the 4-4-2 does do is give Messi a free role through the middle, so not all bad.

They'd only scored 3 in the previous 10, so were unlikely to get another 2. Lazio went up a gear towards the end and put the game to bed. Napoli looked a little lacklustre earlier, but still won 3-1 to go back clear at the top. They could do with a bit more squad depth if they want to avoid falling short for the title again this year. They've got decent cover in midfield, but the front 3 start every game and Chiriches has his dodgy moments.

Valverde clearly wants to play a 4-3-3, as evidenced earlier in the season, but two summers of poor recruitment and an injury to Dembele means he's not really not got the wingers to play like that at present. Plus, they're 8 points clear and have only failed to win once in the league and CL.

Lazio cruising 3-0 away to Benevento in the early game. Their new manager doesn't appear to have made them any more solid than when I saw them against Roma and Inter. Huge job to get them into 19th, never mind avoid relegation.

Two very tidy finishes from Higuain. He's had his doubters this season, but seems to be off and running now. Belter from El Shawary in a comfortable, if unspectacular, win for Roma. Two very watchable games again tonight. Serie A is easily my favourite league this year.

BT have now changed the graphic on that advert. Well played Hibs and the people of P&B.

Saw that advert on BT Sport for the League Cup semis and the hookline was 'will it be another Rangers-Celtic final?'. Haven't met in a final since 2011...

Hartley has always been big on fitness. Every time I saw his Dundee side he had them out sharp after HT to do some ladder exercises before the 2nd half kicked off. Hopefully with improved fitness we'll start playing more of a pressing game rather than waiting til the opponent reaches our box before putting a tackle in.

The only 2 sides that are still unbeaten.

Think I heard that story on the Terrace a few months back. It's a belter

This.

Decent section on Houston's departure in last Thursday's Terrace Podcast. Probably not anything us fans didn't already know, but refreshing to hear guys who've actually done a bit of research as opposed to the 'but he got you to a cup final' narrative rolled by the mainstream media.

Aye. It's similar to Joey Barton's statement about gambling in football when he was caught out. The points are all valid, but the motivation is self-interest and absolving blame.

Watched the tail-end of the Alaves match as Real ambled to an unconvincing 2-1 win. Amazing that the narrative over the summer was that Barca were in crisis and Real could have a period of dominance, yet it's Barca with the 100% record so far while Real drop careless points at home and look a bit lacklustre.

So, buying an entire new XI doesn't make you amazing overnight. Who knew?

Dortmund were very impressive on Saturday evening. They've been solid at the back and pretty clinical going forward so far. I thought Tuchel tinkered with the formation and personnel a bit too much last season, but Bosz seems pretty set with the 4-3-3 and it gets the best out the players they have IMO. Early days, but their underlying numbers and Bayern's malaise suggest it could be a decent title race.

Let Livi swing the axe then pinch their manager. I like your style.

The bar in the South Stand looks decent from the Facebook pictures. Guess that's something to be positive about.