midds

Still firmly believe that Southgate is that shit scared of failing that he's pushing the path of least resistance. He saw the Iran win and figured 2 draws would be enough so he went out and told them to keep a clean sheet and that was a job well done, the post match interviews confirmed it tbh. I'm also convinced that he'll set up exactly the same way on Tuesday and aim to finish on 5 points minimum to 'hopefully' win the group. Win the first game and grind out 2 draws rather than just go for the win 100% in all 3 games. Part of me hopes that Iran go eyeballs out and beats the US in a 3-2 thriller while we slog out a 0-0 with Wales whilst finishing second. It's just negative as fuck, he's got a fantastic squad - just try and win every game, play with a bit of purpose and look to win rather than simply not lose.

The Wales result earlier in the day had an impact on the shitfest tonight imo. Southgate saw that result and decided that the game tonight as simply 'must not lose. Keep a clean sheet at all costs' and the performance mirrored that. Zero invention or creativity, n ambition, no movement, minimal work-rate, men behind the ball, negative subs and awful tempo to the entire game. They say teams reflect the manager and that honking bowl of pigshit tonight mirrored Southgate 100%. Dull, unimaginative, boring, slow and turgid. It's Southgate in a nutshell that. When he allows them play a bit then the players often respond accordingly but he had them on a very short leash tonight and it was pitiful to watch

The US front 6 were great mind, they knew exactly what they had to do and executed it perfectly. They were a threat on the break and opened England up several times and they deserve credit tonight. But what's the point in qualifying if that's how you're going to approach and play games? Southgate is dripping negativity into this side, he's clearly told them that a point is good and totally acceptable tonight and they 100% played like it. England have a fantastic squad out there but the weakest link is in the dug-out imo and I think the squad is papering over the managerial cracks and not vice versa.

Ultra ultra conservative football that is utterly rank to watch. I've seen this game far far too often under Southgate, I know what he's done I know what this team has done but nights like tonight are soul-sucking, underwhelming wastes of time and effort. This can fuck clean off, utter pigshit

The States have been rock solid tbh. Look strong, organised, resolute and caused more than a few problems going forward. We look blunt, slow and predictable

Absolutely fucking dogshit this like. Rank performance

Tempo is awful, need to up the pace and the lack of movement is killing us. Mount off, Foden on and try and run behind them. It's all in front of them and easy to play against. Dreadful half

Didn't see the game, did Iran deserve it?

Forget everything else - he's not good enough to even start for NUFC. I wouldn't drop any of the current first choice XI to make way for this version of Ronaldo. He's done. He's history. He used to be amazing, now he's merely a toxic, arrogant, disruptive and expensive millstone that doesn't belong within a million miles of NUFC

Was the pivotal moment in the game tbph, stay on your feet and close down or dive in and give the goal away. Was a 2 point mistake, get that decision right and you're looking comfortable for the last 16

Pope would have caught that

Brilliant unselfish play there and little things like that will mean more minutes in the long run. Players and managers like shit like that. Team comes first

The Maguire thing is tricky. Personally I'd leave him out and play someone else as right now he's been so shit for Man U that his surname is now synonymous with horrific errors and huge mistakes, they guy's become a meme he's been so bad. There's also the (match) fitness issue as he barely gets a game for his club now. The good thing for him is that we're not exactly brimming with adequate replacements either, Dier, Stones and Coady don't exactly inspire confidence especially when the lad in goal often has concentration issues and is skittish as fuck at times. If Southgate picks him and he makes a big mistake then it'll probably end him mentally, he'll get absolutely slated. Then again it's Iran so he'll be under very little pressure you'd imagine. It'll be interesting to see what he does.

Got a horrible feeling this World Cup is going to be an utter shitfest. The scandals that have surrounded the whole thing from the second they won the bidding war is going to overshadow the actual football itself. The whole thing just feels way off to me, I'll still watch the games but it doesn't feel genuine at all, I just hope the games themselves aren't really dull and cagey but I think the temperatures, water breaks and extra subs will mean the games are slow and a bit turgid. It hasn't kicked off yet but I can't wait for it all to finish

Can't disagree with any of that, I was just taking it at face value and the red he got followed by an immediate cessation of his bets as a huge red flag. I've obviously got no proof or evidence of anything but if he's been charged then he's obviously in a big bit of bother but I'd like to hear more details of exactly what bets he's placed and I'm pretty sure it'll all come out in the wash

@Wullie Unless this was all bullshit I've stupidly fallen for

232 is a very specific number of bets to charge him with like I'm thinking if they have charged him with placing exactly 232 bets then they know exactly what bets he's placed. It's way too precise to make me think they know 100% of what's gone on. The 50/1 red card thing is dynamite

SAFC = Saudi Arabia Fan Club marra Complicit with the actions, sportswashed etc

Think they bought them both (as a pair) but 1 had a big sell on fee. Spurs wanted to minimise the sell on fee so one went really cheaply but the other seemed a bit expensive. The pair of them combined cost probably what they should have but the individual deals meant Juve kept almost all of the fees and passed nothing on to any other clubs. I think.

RtG and Twitter meltdowns might be enough tbh. Owners have always been careful to pander to the fans' whims - hence the 'Sunderland disease' Charlie Meth-head talked about

I'd be betting that the fixture never actually takes place due to the objections of the fans. They'll then double down and froth at the mouth twice as hard for twice as long. Meanwhile 99.8% of people won't give a single fuck either way

Just need to keep bashing away and hopefully it'll turn for wuh

They could even make the stuff in the shops in the city and just deliver them 1 van load at a time, keep them warm and just knock them out, no need to bake loads of stuff on site. They're virtually lava for about an hour anyway. It's not exactly haute cuisine either but it is incredibly popular up here

Ronaldo linked with NUFC after talks. Talks: Agent: Would you be interested in signing Ronaldo in January? Club: No thanks. Bye Easiest job in the world football journalism - invent it, write it up, publish it, 5% accuracy, zero accountability. We're in the wrong job

I think it was a bit of both. PL knew that they would be shown up in court and wanted to settle it before it got that far. I think they were hiding behind the piracy issue and, in my mind, have a conversation saying that if they settled the piracy dispute then they'd wave it through. PL could claim the piracy issue cleared the way for allowing it and it never actually got to court and they lobbying stays secret. I hope it all comes out eventually though. The good, the bad and the corrupt from all concerned in the deal.