What did Paul Merson say?

I'm waiting to enjoy his words of wisdom.

 

He will do, and I'll enjoy watching it, when we beat Arsenal.

 

dont snort it Persil Merson . . . . but f*** you , mister cushion face

 

I just sent him a tweet asking for this thoughts on Marco currently, awaiting the inevitable blocking now...

 

haa is that what he does ?

 

No idea, but most pundits are usually that petty on twitter.

I don't follow him anyways, so it would be no great loss if he did

 

As I am yet to be blocked, I have already assumed that one.

 

Just brilliant !!!!

 

We are doing quite well lately against teams
That play in red, and long may it continue !!!

 

http://www.hulldailymail.co.uk/marc...iverpool-win/story-30112845-detail/story.html

 

This brings a warm glow. The first time that we've played Liverpool and I've actually fully expected us to win! What do Merson and Thompson know?!

Marco Silva's Hull City appointment making critics eat their words after Liverpool win

If they are not quite ready to do so, the time is surely coming for Paul Merson and Phil Thompson to admit they got it horribly wrong on Marco Silva. In the days that followed Hull City's left-field appointment last month, two of Sky Sports' leading pundits were scathing in their assessments of Mike Phelan's successor.

Narrow minds had already been made up before Silva had even taken charge of a single game in English football.

"What's he know about the Premier League?" asked a befuddled Merson. Thompson could offer no answers. "It's totally astonishing that they have plumped for someone like this," he added in full, unequivocal agreement. "It's baffling. He's not got a clue."

A month on and the pair must be starting to feel rather foolish. Although City's Premier League season faces many twists and turns before any rescue is complete, Silva has already done enough to suggest there was method when Merson saw only madness.

Thompson, too, will have watched the demise of his beloved Liverpool on Saturday afternoon contemplating a chunky slice of humble pie. Jurgen Klopp's team might have done all the running at the KCOM Stadium but there was no way past a regimental City side marching as one to Silva's orders.

The Tigers have never looked better equipped to avoid an instant return to the Championship than with the Portuguese in charge. Even when winning the opening two games of the season under Phelan, nagging doubts persisted over the strength of City's hand.

Events of January, on and off the pitch, now look to have changed everything. Silva and his seven new signings have helped drag City back to within a point of safety in a heavily congested bottom six and this weekend they will get the chance to escape the bottom three for the first time since late October.

Few will give them a prayer of doing that away to Arsenal but then there were plenty questioning City's ability to conquer Liverpool for a third consecutive time at the KCOM Stadium. Saturday marked a new zenith in the Tigers' season. Beating champions Leicester on the opening day was special at the time but there was far greater merit in toppling Liverpool, even with the Reds' season crumbling.

Although City were made to survive an onslaught in between debutant Alfred N'Diaye opening the scoring in the 44th minute and Oumar Niasse sealing three precious points late on, there was no fluke in Silva making it four wins from four on home soil. Just as he had to earn an unlikely point at Manchester United three days earlier, City's new kid on the managerial block again demonstrated his sharp tactical acumen and infectious self-belief.

"Our players showed fantastic spirit, our organisation was good and we deserved the win," said Silva, who added Klopp to a list of scalps that also includes Jose Mourinho.

"I am sure in the future we will play better, but at these moments we need to keep our focus and our organisation, because every game it is possible to get valuable points."

Silva is making that very clear. His four games in the Premier League have yielded seven points, more than City had managed in the 18 fixtures that preceded his arrival. For good measure, a creaking defence has also been shored up. The Tigers have trebled their haul of clean-sheets in the Premier League under Silva and have done so by shutting out Manchester United and now Liverpool.

Not until the full-time whistle was the latest blank confirmed but one long examination of City's discipline was eventually passed with flying colours against a guest able to boast 72 per cent of possession. Silva had vowed on the eve of this fixture to restore supporters' pride in this City team and that mission already feels accomplished. A sell-out crowd, the club's first since August, lapped up the efforts of a starting XI that included five January additions.

None were mourning the departures of Robert Snodgrass and Jake Livermore anymore. Omar Elabdellaoui, Evandro, Kamil Grosicki and N'Diaye all made contributions in thwarting Liverpool but it was Andrea Ranocchia who shone brightest. Only handed a full debut 30 minutes before kick-off when Michael Dawson succumbed to a calf injury in the warm-up, the Italian formed an excellent partnership with Harry Maguire.

Liverpool only enjoyed one decent sight of goal in the first half and that was down to a slight lapse from Eldin Jakupovic. The goalkeeper dropped the ball under unwitting pressure from Maguire and was relieved to see Phillipe Coutinho's shot deflected wide of the post.

Simon Mignolet was not so fortunate a minute before the interval. Maguire's header kept a corner alive and when Abel Hernandez made his presence felt in front of Liverpool's uncertain keeper, a failure to collect presented N'Diaye with a simple chance to open the scoring.

Silva was pragmatic in the second half, packing men behind the ball. Liverpool responded with a succession of corners but even when it creaked, City's dam would not burst. Tom Huddlestone, outstanding again, helped see to that with a nose for danger inside the penalty area.

Jakupovic saved well to claw Sadio Mane's looping header away, while Coutinho sliced wide inside a crowded box, but Liverpool's desperation was leaving opportunities for City to exploit. Hernandez was denied when Mignolet smothered at his feet after a sweeping move involving Andy Robertson and Grosicki, but the Uruguayan's replacement would not let Liverpool off the hook a second time.

Ranocchia's raking pass forward bypassed every Liverpool player to set Niasse clear on goal and the on-loan Everton striker made no mistake to net his first Premier League goal a year and three days after first arriving in English football.

Jakupovic's outstanding fingertip save to deny Jordan Henderson from long range was the icing on the cake, confirming back-to-back clean-sheets in the Premier League for the first time since April 2015. If the cheeks of Merson and Thompson were not already turning red, much more of this and they soon will be.

 

I was blocked by Stan Collymore after he had his semi-infamous rant about the perceived lack of effort, commitment and professionalism from Villa players and I then pointed out about him going on strike when at Oviedo.

 

Well he's right. Doesn't matter how much people think we improved or a points to game ratio - he was brought in to avoid relegation. He did the hard bit in getting us to within touching distance but then when it really counted we capitualted appallingly, including a home defeat to probably one of the worst 3 PL sides in history and a thumping away loss to a direct rival in horriffic form.

 

Good post, that's the way I see it too. He did brilliantly to get us into the position but ultimately when the pressure was on and it really mattered we got the three worst results of our season and went down without a fight.

 

We whimpered.