Grapeviney

Liverpool will be spewing after that; played the better football, created more chances, and looked more likely to score throughout. LVG will be pleased to get the points but United were far from impressive. I missed last week's draw with Newcastle but they've been bog ordinary every other time I've seen them this season. Results elsewhere, however, mean they remain very much in the race if they can regain their mojo.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=Sjr9Y3oNW-4

Great story coming out of India where a school cricketer has knocked up an astonishing 1009 n.o. off just 323 balls, setting a new all-time batting record in all competitions of the game. Fifteen year-old Pranav Dhanawad hit 129 fours and 59 sixes, with one bowler conceding 142 runs off a mere 6 overs. The ground admittedly had short boundaries, but so did the ground which was home to the previous record, 628 n.o by Albert Edward Jeune Collins, who held the mantle for 117 years. It will be included in Wisden, so it's the real deal, despite being just a school game. There's a really sweet and serious interview - including questions such as what's it like to be in the nervous 900's - with the humble hero here.

Had to settle for a point, Macca, despite dominating much of the game and twice hitting the woodwork in the first half. Need to add some firepower up front during the transfer period if we're going to keep pace with City and Arsenal and be a genuine contender.

All of which made it a great weekend for Tottenham. Come on you Spurs!

Big news breaking in Europe with Sepp Blatter and Michel Platini both hit with 8-year bans by the FIFA Ethics Committee in the wake of the bribery scandal. Both are expected to appeal to CAS but Blatter's already indicated he's retiring and Platini's hopes of succeeding him are all but over.

It would take a comeback of epic proportions HT but a top-four finish is not out of the question by any stretch of the imagination. Was hard not to feel sorry for the Liverpool goalie last night - dropped an absolute sitter in the opening minutes on debut, and looked all at sea thereafter. Watford were probably lucky with the opening goal (which appeared to have been kicked out of the keeper's hands), but they definitely played the better football throughout the course of the game. And if Van Gaal was feeling the heat after United's loss on Saturday, it just got hotter with Pep Guardiola yesterday confirming he'll be leaving Bayern at the end of the season. Elsewhere, Barca won their 257th tournament for the year, hardly breaking into a sweat as they beat River Plate 3-0 in the FIFA Club World Cup Final in Japan. Edit: Just checking the scores from other leagues; Real Madrid were 2-1 down after 12 minutes at home to Rayo Vallecano, and came back to win 10-2 !

And it's goodbye to Jose Mourinho, with Guus Hiddink set to step in as caretaker. Given the increasingly fractured relationship between coach and players in recent weeks, and their abysmal record (Champions League aside), it was bound to happen sooner or later, but it would still be hard to pull the trigger on a coach with a record like Mourinho's. There were reports that he was in tears after being told, but if anyone in the sporting universe is likely to land on their feet following a sacking, then Jose's the man. Will be interesting to see where he goes next. Edit: some important fixtures this weekend, with Liverpool away at Watford and Arsenal hosting City.

..and damn you Spurs. Fourth spot there for the taking and they snatch defeat from the jaws of victory. Watched the Gunners-Villa match last night, a very dull affair. Highlight was probably the Arsenal fans chanting that Villa should be relegated - along with Chelsea. lol

Yep - it's time to take Leicester seriously as a contender, and to abandon the idea that Chelsea can somehow magically revive its fortunes. The two goals that Stoke put past City were both sensational - especially the second, set up by a sublime turn and pass from Shaqiri. They could easily have finished with 5 or 6. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FpU3zsBJ24s

Bit annoyed that my boys (Spurs) couldn't get the win and further stake their claim at the top end of the table. Even more annoyed that I dozed off in the second half and missed Costa's bib-throwing petulance at Jose!

Article in the 'Hun today said his nickname at the Bushrangers was 'Clarry' - apparently a coach got his name wrong or something - and that's what he calls himself on his Instagram account. I like it. Sounds very oldschool, like someone who might have played with us in our heyday.

Great. Just when we were hoping Norm's curse was to be lifted, we go and draft a Weideman and probably [censored] him off all over again!

Aaah, I see you are a man of exceptionally refined taste.. ..perhaps I can interest you in the Aston Villa Match of the Round show?

As Guru Bob used to say: a champion team will always beat a team of champions, unless the team of champions is very, very good.

Bad news for those EPL followers with Foxtel after Optus won the broadcast rights for the next three years. Optus hasn't said yet whether it will on-sell the rights to a FTA station, or set up a subscription service, or a new distribution model. Whatever the case may be, it leaves Foxtel with very little in terms of world soccer, with all the other major European and South American leagues signed to beIN Sports. Will be interesting to see how it plays out. Edit: As I wrote in an earlier post, it's annoying that beIN seems to be available on Fox but not part of the sports package.

This is not so much a specific book recommendation as it is for a publisher - Granta. Can't remember when I first came across them, but I reckon I've read 20+ titles and have thoroughly enjoyed every single one of them. They are my safe-as-houses, go-to publisher - I'll buy them even if the blurb doesn't really interest me. They are renowned for their reportage / non-fiction but equally feted for fiction. Here are a few randoms that I've loved: This is just beautifully written and a touching story: Diana Athill ~ After a Funeral Life growing up in Osho's ashram: Tim Guest ~ My Life in Orange Bleak but beautiful story about a broken Czech family: Ivan Klima ~ No Saints or Angels They also publish Granta ~ The Magazine of New Writing, a brilliant quarterly that is often (broadly) themed and has a mix of fiction, reportage, poetry and the like, which you can get in most bookstores. Like the book publishing arm, the Granta magazine (which is more of a small book than magazine) never fails to deliver the goods.

Thread has been pruned to remove the juvenile innuendo posted about some of our female players. It's a shame that these types of schoolboy antics still exist at a time when the women's game, and particularly the MFC's prominent role in developing it, is really kicking goals. For those of you who think it's all harmless fun and political correctness gone mad, imagine it's your daughter or sister whose picture was being drooled over, and see how that stacks up for you.

Nah, I think he's just quietly sobbing to himself - an early candidate in the Jesse Hogan Made Me Cry stakes.

Yay, a book thread on Demonland! Good work Macca. Interesting back story to the new / old Harper Lee book, with claims that the publishers basically took advantage of her age and the death of her sister to line their pockets with the riches that would inevitably follow with another book. The Harper Lee 'Go Set a Watchman' Fraud. I've read Murakami's "Underground", which was fascinating, but couldn't get into "What I Talk About When I Talk About Running". Will check out the others you have recommended hardtack. Must admit that my reading habits have been disrupted by my decision to get Foxtel for the footy this year; instead of reading before bed, I find myself watching late night crap, or overseas sport. I've just started on a collection of essays by Noel Pearson called "Up From The Mission", but the best book I've read in recent months would be Paul Kelly's "Triumph and Demise", which tells the story of how the Rudd / Gillard / Rudd governments squandered so much political capital in such a short amount of time. No-oe understand power and politics like Kelly, and no-one writes with the same authority and clarity. Like his earlier books on the Hawke Government (End of Certainty) and Howard / Keating (The March of Patriots), this one will become the definitive account of the Labor era.

Tim Watson did say last year that Jack had his father's DNA, so I think you could be on to something..

I really want him to finish the season as the no.1 contested mark in the competition. That would also be an <insert your own superlative> achievement. Trailing Hawkins by 2 so still in with a chance.

When Smith and Rogers were in the 90's last night, I found myself praying (for want of a better word) that they'd both make tons. It later dawned on me; why are my cricket prayers answered so often, yet my footy prayers almost always fall on deaf ears?!

Yep, and this was a big part of last week's win and our accurate 18.5 scoreline - our inside50's were deep and central, which meant most of our set shots were relatively easy.