Theregulars

I think Ashley quite deliberately overpaid them and gave them a huge payout at the end because he deliberately employed managers as yes men meat shields. Of all the dross, only McLaren got the sack and that’s a mix of looming relegation and Rafa falling into his lap. I think with Bruce it is a case of taking the money to deflect the blame, accept the complete non-ambition and telling him he was trying to sell, and if he took his orders he’d get a nice big payout from new owners because the contract would be passed along with purchase. If he did have to sack him with relegation looming next year, pay out of revenue the club generates. 

Congratulations, everybody. What an absolutely sordid and soul-crushing 14 years that was. Thank you all for helping me bear what has been one of the most dispiriting situations in my life with some degree of humour and solidarity. I am genuinely in tears.

1 hour ago, Happinesstan said:

Is Willock attracting interest from other clubs who have seen him play regularly in the PL?

Your second post is a non-sequitur. Your point was that Bruce’s lack of aptitude / not caring is somehow beneficial to young players, which in my view is clutching at straws. Bruce is the worst manager in the division, and probably one of the worst in the top 2 divisions, so I don’t really back the view that this may be beneficial to a young player. If I was a young player, if I had other coaching options I’d not be opting for Steve Bruce on the basis that I could do whatever I wanted. 
 

That discussion point has nothing to do with other clubs’ interest in Willock or otherwise - it may be that Willock likes playing for Bruce, but I’d wager he just enjoyed playing games, which didn’t appear to be much of an option for him at Arsenal. 
 

Either way, Bruce is shit.

2 hours ago, Happinesstan said:

I know Bruce is shite in every way, but I think there might be a benefit to other clubs in loaning us their 21=23 year olds. Their fooball coaching is pretty much complete at that age and just need the opportunity to chisel out their identity, a coach who doesn't give a fuck, like Bruce, could be just what they need.

 Did any of the the straws stick within your grasp?

I’ll never not care and I resent myself a lot for it, which in turn makes me resent Ashley/Bruce/PL/aggressive free market capitalism in sports even more. It’s a really grim cycle and not one a 7 year old version of me could have ever anticipated, but at this stage I genuinely wish I had never taken an active interest in football. The bad outweighs the good so massively. Was at an (outdoors!) meet up for a friend’s birthday yesterday and Man U and Liverpool fans were there excitedly talking about the new season, asked who I support and I said “cricket”. It’s just easier at this point.

A lot of bibble here but that was a fair result. Difficult game, attritional; Danes are a well drilled unit and well worth their tournament. I hate that it’s the Italians.

Yorkie is the Gareth of the forum. Arise sir yorkie 

Soft pen, bad pen, England probably deserve the lead and the Danes’ free kick for the goal was soft as Philly cream cheese on a summer’s day (last year summer tho)

Thought it was a poor decision for their free kick, it’s obvious they were trying to win territory for the strike and Christiansen took a really lame flop, ref bought it. Pickford has let the emotion get to him, otherwise nobody has been too bad but nobody too good. 

Out of interest, how do you feel about Saint Maximin taking the knee? Do you also think he’s an entitled millionaire, or is he ok because he scores goals for your team?

1 minute ago, CalmintheChaos said:

Racist  so nobody can be against taking the knee now then. Ok. 

No, I consider that you are racist because of your brazenly incorrect and over generalised negative stereotyping of black people and Asian people. 
 

I’m interested in hearing your answer to my questions to you, please.

6 minutes ago, Klaus said:

Don't feed the troll ffs

Or maybe don’t stay silent when someone is being racist?

1 hour ago, CalmintheChaos said:

Because I know what the build up and post match is largely going to be about and i want to watch and hear about football not all the storm that is inevitably going to come from this today. I’m almost certain it’s all been pushed so much to cause more division and friction. Do any other countries in Europe do it out of interest and I wonder if there FA pushes it like ours do and I bet England is a lot more tolerant and diverse than most european countries.

 

 

 

On what basis do you say that? Have you lived in, or even spent more than a 7-14 day holiday in, any European country that isn’t the U.K.?

24 minutes ago, CalmintheChaos said:

Maybe as they are the biggest committers of gun and knife crime and most it seems to happen in largely black areas? so makes sense they get searched. I bet plenty of white people get searched too just don’t have a chip on their shoulder about it.  I don’t see the issue with been searched if they have nothing to hide and it’s for everyone’s safety I don’t get the issue it takes 30 seconds and helps keep gun and knife crime down. 
 

I don’t agree with taking the knee end of and incredible you think I’m in some minority. I bet 50% of the people you all know away from this board don’t agree with it either. I’m not saying they would be as petty as me or that they would boo but I bet there is loads you all know who don’t agree with it at least.

 Stepping aside from the offensiveness of this statement, if we accept your premise that the majority of gun and knife crime is committed by black people, out of interest why do you think that might be? I’ll offer you two options:

1. More individuals from African and Caribbean backgrounds are more likely to be born into endemic poverty and not have access to good education and therefore a wider range of professional opportunity, meaning it’s more likely that they resort to crime (in some instances to make ends meet); or 

2. Those people have an innate tendency towards criminal behaviour.

Genuinely, @CalmintheChaos, I’d be interested in your answer.

1 hour ago, CalmintheChaos said:

If I went to China or Asia to work wouldn’t I be subjected to insults here and there for been white? I mean I could name several places in England where if I walked down I would get abuse for been white and more than likely assaulted. Works both ways. Knee taking isn’t going to do a single thing other than cause more division especially when like it or not it’s associated with that criminal scumbag George Floyd. Until been white is stopped been seen as some master race then this will never end. I mean most classes at schools now seem to be half white/half non white so it’s not like been non white has you in a minority growing up like it would have done decades ago. Plenty of schools where white kids are the minority.

Sorry - my above post was in response to this. Also creasing at “China or Asia”.

I’m white and lived in Asia for 3 years (Singapore and Hong Kong). Not once did I encounter any form of racist abuse directed towards me. Moreover, my elder brother has lived in Hong Kong for 25 years and also hasn’t once encountered any form of racist abuse directed at him. 
 

Of the many, many white people I know and spent time with during my time there, not one has “been jumped” on grounds of being white. 
 

You are entitled to disagree that racism is as serious a problem as some make out (although I think you’re in denial, which is an opinion I’m entitled to). What you’re not entitled to do is assert that an entire continent (to which I’m going to guess you’ve not been) has a problem with racism with (again, I assume) no form of research, experience or data to back it up. 

Do you genuinely believe that, on overview, black people have the same opportunities (educational, professional, financial, social) as white people in the U.K.?

On 13/05/2021 at 18:09, number37 said:

Proudly wore this down to Selhurst Park for the Crystal Palace game in August 2009. 

#hindsight

Ah man my friend from America was here that week - he’s taken me to all sorts of Philly sports matches and that was his first Newcastle game. He had me buy him the custard / banana away strip with 23 Ameobi after it. Screamer from Raylor! We started in the home end and when I told the Palace steward he’d come here from America to watch the game, he let us shift into the away end. Offered him a tenner and he refused to accept it. Sometimes people aren’t awful.

That works for me 

Que?

BBC commentator called him Manuel Schär. 

Next Wednesday (26th) good for me and Morty!

Keen

He looks like a melted waxwork of the “let’s get ready to rumble” guy

With the obvious caveat of sour grapes, an idea to improve the game and stop Guardiola’s strategy of boring the opposition into defeat: you can’t have more than 40/50 passes without a shot on goal. 
 

They have won the title - for entertainment’s sake, why bother with the keep-ball? Desperately boring. 
 

Still, a great day for Abu Dhabi.

If you ever wanted an illustration of what happens when you have an actual coaching structure vs life under a complete chancer, there it was. Totally outclassed by a team playing largely in second gear who knew all they had to do was narrow the passing options of our centre halves. It was that easy.