I think we owe Kieran Gibbs a debt of gratitude. That Kane shot would have made the media cream their pants over him for months.

Reminded me of 2-0 in the FA Cup final too...a dark time.

Gibbs.

Thread just doesn't get famous Anfield nights

Why is everybody stating that Bournemouth are market favourites against Stoke? Stoke are slightly favoured on Betfair and the line hasn't moved.

Bournemouth are seeing a huge amount of Asian support on each morning of their games. It may not happen this week but judging by previous weeks it more than likely will. Plus the market hates Stoke.

What's pointless about it? You might win it. Winning it is an end in itself.

Plus we might get another magical Anfield night like we did yesterday, which would put a smile on my face.

a) we won't
b) i'd take a three points in the league over the cup

You're not going to win the league either.

It's easy to see how everybody gets whipped into a free-money-frenzy backing Bournemouth at home to Sunderland but don't see the same effect occurring away at Stoke.

The market has a way of dealing with trends like "Bournemouth price always shortens immediately prior to kick off" so they don't persist forever. If people like you are noticing the Asian money going on Bournemouth in the run up to kick off, then the current price could be an over-adjustment based upon anticipated Asian monies. The price could drift if it doesn't arrive at the expected level.

All speculation of course but when I look at that price, I think the reasons people are up on Bournemouth and down on Stoke are already reflected, otherwise Stoke would be bigger favourites. Could be wrong but I only see the line moving significantly in response to lineup announcements.

LOL!!!!!!!!!!
of course, squeaking to 4th is the obv goal here.

sad days bro, sad days

Anyways I was laughed at when I said I would take an FA Cup win over a top4 finish two years ago, because of the financial benefits top 4 gets you...I didn't give a **** cause I am a GHW obviously and don't care about longterm financial benefits for the owners

Which is almost as unlikely.

no its not

u might've noticed chelsea being aids and utd struggling to create a whole lot of chances

$tat$ dont lie

Missed the game last night, besides the goal, how did Pereira look? Was he playing on the left?

yeah lol @ cheering for black ink

may as well cheer on your local fish and chippery turning a profit - "gotta move the deadwood sunday morning extra fryer on" for all the excitement of MAKING UP NUMBERS means

cup runs are the ***** bomb, even better if cl cup runs

but has higher upside

besides money: attracting good players becomes way easier

You're right in that the market eventually adjusts for the most part, although we've had 12 months of Leicester City Asian money. Leicester were 3.3 last Friday evening away to Stoke and had an eventual Betfair SP of 2.64.

Stoke do have some players returning this weekend though so it could be the case that a Bournemouth steam is halted. I'll still be backing them though and cutting out if a move doesn't materialize.

You have a really weird set of priorities as a football supporter... the obvious upside of finishing top 4 is getting in the Champions League... duh!

I think the 2.64 SP for Leicester supports my view to be honest. I don't think that drawing with Leicester does much to change the market's view of Stoke and as you say they have returning players too. Since Leicester are (justifiably) more fancied than Bournemouth I can't see how the Bournemouth price can get even closer to the Leicester SP.

That said, sounds like you keep tabs on these things more than I do, so maybe you're right even though it would seem nonsensical to me.

srsly? 4th goes to CL? wtf dude!
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besides that, you can get better players which can make your success more sustainble on the long run.

Are you sure about that?

Stoke are really **** to be honest

We're not getting 4th. And even if we did what makes you think we would be able to attract good players? We finished 2nd a couple of years ago, had the best attack in the league, and were able to attract Balotelli, Lambert, etc. CL didn't make a bit of difference.

What could be the secret ingredient that is missing?

I think 4th is possible.
The difference is that if this squad makes CL somehow, there is no psuedo-suarez that can leave. The squad will stay pretty much the same. And you could add good players to it.
btw, getting klopp in will make a buzz that will attract top-class players to the club.