Kaizero

It came as more of a surprise that we haven't done this for years already, than the fact they've announced what all other clubs that run their youth academies at least semi-professional has been doing for eons 🤷🏼‍♂️ Even my local side, now a third tier team in the Norwegian league system, has done this since before I can remember - it's just basic logic when it comes to developing the most talented young players in your academy What the actual flying fuck have we been up to? At least this explains why we've not seen a youth player step up into our starting eleven in decades...

I'd say it's a bit more nuanced and complex rather than the straightforward statement you've made. Essentially, as a kid, he "picked" Liverpool as his soccer club - just as most kids not local to any English clubs across the world end up doing with one team or another. His interest in football wasn't a major part of his llfe until he stumbled across AFC Wimbledon, however. He's even gone as far as stating that the only crowd he's ever felt comfortable in was in the stands at Plough Lane and that the club in his heart is AFC Wimbledon. That, of course, brings us to what's been an issue for an immeasurable amount of kids that for one reason or another ended up having to "pick" a team to "support" when they were in school, maybe even without actually giving a shit about football, or even all sports, in general at the time. What happens if/when a day comes where you, as an older, wiser and more experienced human being end up actually becoming interested in football - but suddenly "your" club, picked at random during childhood, doesn't feel "right" for you at all - but another club does? What if that club is the reason you actually became actively interested in football at all? Do you stick to the cultural expectation of you to continue "supporting" a club you chose randomly without giving it a second thought when you were a child, or do you proclaim your support for a different club and face the wrath of all other football supporters that maintain the view that "changing" the club you support is tantamount to murderous treason? 🤷🏼‍♂️ John Green only speaks with genuine excitement and engagement when discussing AFC Wimbledon. Sure, he's up to date on Liverpool and can speak about the club and what's going on there - but there's no actual emotion when he speaks about them. It all just sounds like a bog standard TV pundit discussing the day's matches and the teams involved, whereas his entire being lights up when talking about AFC Wimbledon. Where is the line drawn? i'd bet good money on Green only keeping up a facade pretending to support LFC because of the implication of what football culture would think about him if he stated he didn't care about LFC and was a through and through supporter of AFC Wimbledon, rather than him genuinely being an actively engaged LFC supporter in his daily life. For those that are English by birth it's a fair bit different than for those that aren't, you're literally borned into supporting your town's local team - or the local team of one, or both, of your parents (or even grandparents) back from the time they were kids. Having grown up in Norway, I've come to realize that at least half of those that say they "support" teams like Man Utd, Liverpool, Arsenal or Chelsea don't actually care one iota about "their" team, it's just how it is because they made a choice when they were a kid to have a team to say they "supported" when other kids talked about the teams they "supported". The only Norwegian supporters of English teams that I've, almost always, felt came across as 100% genuine in their support of "their" club were the ones that supported teams like Newcastle or other teams that never were perennial title challengers in the PL era - most likely because they actually "chose" the team they supported for an emotional reason, or any other reason that made them feel a connection to either the geographical area where the club is based or the club itself. Personally, I think non-English persons that "chose" one of the horrid plastic clubs randomly as a kid should be given a pass if they, later in life, actually develop a genuine interest in football and through that develop a genuine connection to a different club than the one they've said they supported, when asked which club they support, just to have an answer ready for that very question - and not because they actually support or feel connected to that club. I was lucky as I essentially inherited my NUFC support from my father, who'd been a lifelong fan ever since the Norwegian version of the BBC started airing one match every saturday from the English top flight sometime in the late 50s/early 60s. I was born into an emotional connection to a "foreign" team, in addition to having a singular focus on Newcastle due to the fact there were no Norwegian teams within a seven hour drive from where I grew up that played in the Norwegian Premier Division. My local side has never been higher up in the league pyramid than the third tier (this season they've returned to said tier for the first time in over a decade, which actually has made me somewhat interested in, and excited about, my local team for the first time in my 35 years on this earth ). Others weren't as lucky as I was, though, and now they're stuck in a footballing limbo where they can't ever become genuinely interested in the sport because they're stuck with a team they have no affinity or care for, whilst knowing they'll be footballing pariahs if they ever were to say they now supported a different team - even if logic were to support the fact their "switch" was for actual attachment/emotional reasons and not because they'd gone glory hunting. An example could for instance be someone that blurted out "Chelsea" at the age of 6 because that was the only club they could think of when another kid, or a teacher/adult, asked them which club they supported - but now saying their actual team is a team like Bradford or a team of a similar, lower, standing than the team they're "meant" to support for the rest of their natural born lives It's an interesting subject, I feel. I'd genuinely be interested in hearing opinions about this from someone actually English, if any of you've bothered to read through the entirety of my long ass rant to the point you've actually reached this part of it Contextual Caveat: All that said, I genuinely believe in the deepest parts of my being that a Norwegian that changes the Norwegian team they support ordered themselves a one way ticket to the deepest part of hell because of it. So I understand the viewpoint of a natural born citizen of a country absolutely detesting anyone of their own nationality that would even just entertain a thought about switching the team they support in their home nation to another team within it. You're stuck with the best team in the vicinity of your birthplace or your favourite parent/grandparent's place of birth for your entire natural born life. However, in contrast to the English, most people of other nationalities most of the time support two teams - one local and one foreign. It's the process surrounding the foreign team someone supports I'm talking about in this post, not the luck/lack of luck regarding a person's birthplace when it comes to the standard of the available local teams.

I mean, from a purely neutral standpoint... looking at what's shaping up to be a four horse race for the two direct promotion spots in the Champo, out of the four involved teams I'd actually prefer to see Sunderland be one of the two promoted (alongside Leeds). Simply because the alternatives are another season of complete and utter turgid boredom clogging up two relegation spots in Burnley and Sheffield United. If the other two teams come up we're at least going to witness crazy fucked up shenanigans all around as they both start off the season proclaiming that they'll challenge for a top half finish, only to end up imploding into absolute chaos after a couple of weeks as we all get to watch the dumpster fire burn itself into ashes as they disappear back down to the existence as league-fillers in the Championship. Now, I know that the teams in both scenarios I've mentioned would get relegated as I see things. The difference would be in how they get flushed back down again, as Burnley and Sheffield United at least maintain a sense of being honorable, dignified, footballing institutions (at least more so than the other two) - meaning they'd accept their fate and start preparing for another season chasing promotion as the elevator between the PL and Champo keeps going up and down. The other two, on the other hand... And, for what it's worth, at least there's some entertainment in witnessing a dumpster fire in slow motion happening before your very eyes

Not the right thread for an off-topic post, but I'm on a slippery slope mentally these days. A few years back you let me send you a long PM rant that helped me through a tough time, and whilst we've bantered back and forth about this probability bullshit and some other things recently, I'd be really thankful if I - if a time comes where I manage to turn my internal turmoil into a long ass PM rant - could send that to you. It involves some of the same elements as a few years ago, so you're likely the only person on here (maybe even in my life in general) that's heard my internal thoughts, emotions and struggles with what I went through back then. Anyway;

On a more topical note, however, it's actually quite coincidental that this actual match has two teams that both are in the midst of a club record breaking run. # of wins in a row for us, # of matches in a row without losing for them. One of those runs will come to an end at the final whistle on Saturday, but the odds of ourselves and Bournemouth being two clubs in the midst of the runs we're on currently would have had massive odds before it happened, let alone the freak coincidence of both clubs meeting at the zenith of their potentially record breaking runs. Fuck all of the probability and maths talk for a second, I genuinely find the fact that this match is happening with both teams having the opportunity to set a new club record if they keep their current run going through this match fascinating as fuck.

Literally one of the few things that still keeps me going these days, as sad a thing as that is to say

I, for one, will from now on refer to all NUFC - AFCB match-ups as “The Maths/Probability Derby”

This is a match-up for the ages. In one corner, NUFC, battling against maths and probability chasing their seventh straight league win and the chance to make it a club record breaking ten wins i a row across all competitions! In the other corner, Bournemouth are also fighting maths and probability, looking to make it ten PL matches in a row without a loss and eleven without a loss across all competitions! No matter who wins, or if it ends in a draw, this match will surely etch itself into the annals of footballing history as one of the sides playing will be forced to tell maths and probability to fuck the fuck off as they’ll extend their current run by one additional match. Will it be Newcastle or will it be Bournemouth that gets the honor of fucking math and probability straight up the bum? We’ll all, inevitably, find out on Saturday!

Cheers good to know some people actually know their stuff As for me not knowing my stuff, please refer to the part of my post in parenthesis as the excuse for me being an ignorant know-nothing whe it comes to PSR-fuckery and amortisation fuck-abouting by clubs

Long contracts will become the norm for players on high salaries as it allows for amortisation and gaming PSR long-term (I think Only read bits and bobs here and there in articles about why long contracts are in vogue these days, turns out Mike Ashley was ahead of his time )

The fact John Green, for some reason, ended up becoming an AFC Wimbledon fan - out of all possible teams for that specific guy* to end up falling for such a random club in the English league system, to the degree he's now put up the money to buy a them a new player because he wanted to watch them win more often Credit where credit's due, he's truly been living life as a devout Dons fan over the last few years *as in him having a fair few quirks whilst at the same time having had severe OCD his entire life, which in most avenues of life has led him to not really form any major attachments outside the people closest to him as his "issues", according to himself, almost without fail eventually make him sour on things he once cared for and/or liked. Committing to one specific "soccer" team for life feels very out of character for him based on his public persona Granted, we only know his public persona, he may be dealing better with things nowadays than he's willing to let on in public. Good on him, either way. Love me some John (and Hank) Green

To be fair to myself, I hadn't noticed there was an entire extra page full of people's answers before I gave mine, quoting joeyt's post whilst still on page 73 - before magically appearing far down page 74 to find that all the players had been answered already

Kelland Watts? Fairly certain about Watts, but not certain about my next guess as it's Jamie Sterry... I distinctly recall seeing him on the pitch for us at least twice, though I think the additional appearances came for us in the Champo and not in the PL? I may have a thing for ex-academy players, to be fair Been trying to get a fair few of them on the roster at my agency and offer them to Scandinavian clubs. Running an agency is genuinely as close to playing FM in real life it's possible to get without being an actual manager, I'm on course to have managed to get 5 first teamers signed to a Norwegian club this window, meaning that once the season begins - if all 5 start - the reason for 5 out of 6 players being on that very pitch will be down to me having done some wheeling and dealing behind the scenes What a world we live in, eh?

Genuinely don't understand why people keep posting pics/vids online of what, truthfully, is just vermin - existing... Places where loads of people congregate to spill food and drink all over the place are exactly the places I'd expect to see a mouse, rat or dirty pigeon turn up 🤷🏼‍♂️ It's hard enough to keep those fuckers out of a normal house or even just backyard sheds. All that those people do by posting their horrible quality content online is providing evidence that rats and mice, do indeed, exist among us - and that they are fond of places where they can easily find sustenance to remain among us for a little while longer. Rats and mice exist, thank you for letting us know. That said, an actual infestation of vermin would be something else entirely. I've yet to see any kind of photographic evidence of that being the case though, just a few random animals here and there 🫡 God how I hate what the Internet has become, fuck modern society.

Had another fairly horrid week, so managed to somehow forget this even existed Glad to see people enjoying themselves, though! May the luckiest best fucker out of the lot of you end up the last man standing 🙏🏼

Only three more impossible wins to go

Apparently because it's nigh mathematically impossible, you know

Khusanov is fucking amazing. Genuine steal at that price given the years they'll get out of him.

He had taken his last club before Brighton from the third tier in Sweden to the knock-outs in the EL where they beat Arsenal at the Emirates, but being knocked out on aggregate. That was done with a club that was semi-pro when he arrived. Not Potter's biggest fan myself, but that achievement is pretty much unheard of in European football.

The break in logical thinking among humans when it comes to the fact "higher price = higher demand" in certain sectors has always baffled me. If they priced the shirt at a reasonable price, the demand would likely be lower due to the actual lack of quality. However, because it's priced high, it creates a false feeling in the buyer that they're getting something "more exclusive", which they view as more important than lack of quality - and thus the cycle keeps repeating.

Retro interest comes in 30 year cycles when the generation that "grew up" with something has gotten kids of their own and want their kids to experience what they liked when they were young. It'd have been too close to do a revival/reboot at the time from a sales/marketing perspective.

Because Adidas wasn't our shirt sponser then? We released "retro remakes" under Ashley, but without the Adidas logo and all the other Copyrighted Adidas stuff.

Beating Arsenal has just made it even harder for us to win our next game you know...