madras

Getting old. Cash in while we can.

It wasn't just confidence they were short of under Bruce but direction, tactics, fitness, belief and a plan.

Seemed like there was a constant niggle between those two.

I agree. But you can see the way we are trying to move tactically.

The Athletic had an article a while back about footballers new being less defined by positions than their role on the pitch and that's what we see here. They both cover that side and central but bring slightly differing skill sets to the team they can switch from where each other is which makes them a bugger to mark (teams will work out how to do this in time) and are getting better at reading each other as a partnership and how that works with others (full back and players inside). It'll be interesting to watch how it develops and how Maxi can hopefully bring his skill set into to it providing different options for different scenarios.

Never really seen the flags from TV before but last night's came over really well.

That's a false narrative. He's not being hounded out in any way. Some people get pissed off with him standing still and waving his arms about when he thinks he's been fouled as teams break on us. As for the Sheff Wed thing, the person who broke that he wasn't even travelling said there was possibly something else behind the scenes, now if the person who tells you something that wasn't common knowledge gets it right it gives any accompanying story more credence, same would have happened had it been Longstaff. But some seem to fall in love, especially with the flair players and their defence of them is all consuming. Watch for similar over Bruno, its starting as some have started to realise some of the free kicks he was getting last season to get us out if trouble, he's not getting this season, particularly players running into his back or the nudge from the side, probably part of the refs new guidelines to let the game go a bit more, but some have realised he's still trying to buy them and it's already lead to us giving up the ball in our own third a few times.

Love the idea of a French dial tone. Le brrrrrrrrrrrrrr.

With Ginola was it not the Barce interest that turned his head.

There's a point in that game when Nigel Winterburn, after already being booked brings Ginola down from behind and just starts walking off knowing he was getting a second yellow. Other Arsenal players had to stop him. I think the ref gave him the free kick. Ginolas only failing that night was not wading into Dixon until in he was physically dragged off.

I'd say the biggest difference is he hasn't just been told to "Fuck off Mackem" which is the first and regular thing to happen over there.

He just seemed rusty. I don't think it mattered who the service was from, he missed a free header from 6yds and a one on one from about 10yds. I'd hope he'd take those chances when he's got a bit more match sharpness.

Prepared fair enough but FFP means we can only spend what we create and right now we are nowhere near Chelsea, the Manchester clubs, Liverpool so we could be potentially the richest for all we have the richest owners. The Ashley bit was just to say rich owners don't necessarily mean rich clubs.

Yeah it's a bad state of affairs but true nonetheless. Anyway, I wish people would quit with the "richest club in the world" shit, our owners are very rich but we have no idea how much they want to invest. We did have a billionaire owner once who didn't want to invest even if he was richer than other owners.

Trippier was linked half way through December. Then he was linked with a return to Spurs and Man Utd.

I'm fairly sure they were and don't get me started on the Shearer stories. There's a book worth there alone.

New England Patriots style shenanigans.

The tales were around before anything was true, that in some cases they turned out to be true gives more power to them. Racism doesn't have to be along skin colour lines. Did I mention his colour or nationality ? I honestly can't remember but don't think I did.

And there was the story that Keegan and Varadi didn't get on, obviously it was down to Imre sounding a bit of a foreign sounding name. There's enough of an issue with racism, which seems to be making a comeback, without ascribing it where it isn't.

Throw Woodgate in that list as well

While you were posting that I edited my post to include some others. We both had Carroll.

I would have said he was wrong to say that as well.

Similar tales went round about Bellamy, was that racism ? Edit.....and Andy Carrol and Lee Clarke and Mike Hooper and at least as far back as Alan Foggon

The future is already set. Don't worry, it's gonna be good.