brummie

Gary Shaw (In my mind, forever 22) apparently in a coma after having a fall last week. Get well soon.

Also - people will pay those prices but it’s all so complicated and demanding these daysy. I am in my 50s. I’ve seen us play Juventus home in the European Cup (the greatest team I’ve ever seen play at our place). I’ve seen us win the European Cup let alone play in it. I’ve seen us play in the UEFA cup too. I’ve seen us win the league and four league cups. I’ve seen us do third division to champions of England and Europe and back to division two in 15 years. What an insane ride. I am very, very lucky to be old enough to have experienced all that and at a time when the sport was reasonable and cheap (even accepting the increased risk of death or injury back then). i look at my nephews now, all teenagers, and I think, not only is the structure of the game with stuff like FFP rendering these things almost impossible, even when we do get the chance to have nice things again, they’re getting fleeced for it. They’ve no chance. Everything about football now is related to money / finance. Everything. Sport making you happy at a price you can afford, and just being what it is, without talking about predatory pricing or accounting rules, I don’t think that is ever coming back. And that’s depressing. Football is just disappearing up its own arsehole.

Since we imported a new CEO (different job title, though) who had a long history in turning around the finances of an NBA franchise, but also alienating every fan there, we’ve started to do way better commercial deals, but at the same time seen some fucking insane pandering to high ticket price customers - corporates and GA+ as they call them they’ve spent the whole summer creating new lounges and corporate facilities - we now have an £8,000 season ticket if you fancy it - and putting in stuff like 150 quid match day tickets which include access to an all you can eat and drink facility. All this whilst turfing out long time season ticket holders from the better seats to turn them corporate and at the same time binning the plans to redevelop and enlarge the North Stand (high demand, fewer tickets, higher prices etc). So for three or four years we have had over 30,000 people in the season ticket waiting list and 30,000 actual season ticket holders. Only now because of all the above, we now actually have brought the number of ST holders down to 27,000 which obviously fortuitously creates 3,000 more GA+ seats. Off the pitch we have been excellent since the current owners came in, and this new guy, Chris Heck, wants to drive income to 400m in 5 years, and he probably will, but all the same, it is rampant at times. He is lucky he is doing this at a time we have an absolutely top level football management structure in Emery, Monchi and Vidagany and we are progressing hugely on the pitch. The fact he feels he has to do it though is very very disappointing.

Michael ‘Gerrard’s Right Arm’ Beale coached São Paulo. the actual one, not like a tribute club or something.

Sir Dave ‘Marginal Gains’ Brailsford there. I’ll give you a significant gain for free, Dave, dump them all in the canal and start again. what a hilariously wretched mess.

I haven't read the article, but one thing is true, it is no longer possible to come into football, pour endless money into it - even if you have got it - and achieve results quickly.

I can't find our draw. How come, why are we not being drawn against someone? Have I missed something?

Jesus, you've got a long memory. The boy was so promising. I am right about Morgan Rogers, though.

I told you, Morgan Rogers is going to be a big, big player for us. I thought we were really good today, only looked significantly second best after 2-0. We have to take our chances, though. I thought we played better today than in this fixture last season, when we won 1-0. Also, Arteta, what a fucking thundercunt he is.

I am alright with this so long as: 1. It is a loan, not some stupid perm deal 2. Chelsea pay at least half of his wages 3. Something else a bit opinionated and pushy.

It was a poor book-based pun. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scoop_(novel) Probably the only book i was forced to read for English Lit O level and actually enjoyed. That and 'My Family and Other Animals' by Gerald Durrell.

To be fair to joeyt, I also said on here not really that long ago that Ollie Watkins was clearly never going to be good enough, and that the only player Emery had not improved at all was Leon Bailey, who'd never be good enough.

Yeah, you wouldn't expect a Scoop from Waugh. *holds bat aloft, salutes all sides of the ground*

Ha ha, how wrong can one be!

I would be amazed if i ever said that. He's excellent with his feet. It may have been Robin Olsen, the number 2 keeper, but then again, he needs to be better with his hands, let alone his feet, so it can't have been him I was talking about.