timeEd32

A civilian Olympics is maybe the best idea I've ever heard. I would watch every second of that (and dream of being chosen).

Important game for country coefficients too. Come on Minteh.

Just learned in that press release that Rio never won the FA Cup. Seems impossible.

Ah, there it is. Greatest hits track 1. Looking forward to the well known B side "I don't know why the training staff let him bulk up so much. He probably weakened his pec while bench pressing."

Obviously availability is important but I know what we'll all hate more in the future -- an always fit second choice striker who doesn't score goals. Also, that's not really fair to Wilson tbh. Because of injuries he was basically a first choice striker whenever he was fit (or fit enough). Here's his season: August and September - available Late September plays 90m + 28m + 69m in a week - injures hamstring After a month off (which included an int'l break) he plays in 6 games in 17 days. This includes 76 unexpected minutes against Dortmund because Isak went off injured. Comes off at halftime of the 6th game with another hamstring injury. After month off (including another int'l break) he's forced to do the following upon return: Dec. 10 - 27 min Dec. 13 - 90 min Dec. 16 - 90 min Dec. 19 - 120 min Dec. 23 - 90 min Dec. 26 - 36 min - calf injury Everyone is now pissed at him for being made of glass after a freak injury, but what we made a 31 year old with his injury history do in October and December was not fair.

8 goals, 7 in the league. 5th in the PL in goals/90. Not even going to mention last season. If he's a waste of a squad place then that applies to more than half our squad.

I have done a lot of digging and still can't figure out if 7th could be a Europa League place in the event of England getting a 5th CL spot and an already qualified club winning the FA Cup. I'm not sure anyone knows for sure as everything says something generic about England getting more places, but not specifically for which competition. But 7th has to be the aim now with the Wilson news.

I think I'm interested in changing less than most, at least in terms of the actual sport. The game itself: Automated / semi-automated offsides - The Premier League having people draw lines is almost as dumb and prone to error as the NFL still having old men guess where the ball belongs and other old men walking chains up and down the sideline. VAR needs more transparency and consistency - Faster decisions mostly watching at full speed. The intense focus on super slow motion and stills distorts so many decisions. If you can't decide quickly then move on. Ban stutter steps on penalties - one of the biggest stains on the sport The financial side: Simpler rules with clearer punishments UEFA's costs to revenue limit makes sense with escalating set of fines if it's exceeded. You can spend more than you make if you're willing to pay for it. Clubs that are spending more than they make should be forced to front the cash into some kind of escrow account. No punishments other than fines as long as you have the money Ban multi-club ownership within a continent - Like for real even if the second club is in Finland's third division (this probably violates laws but figure it out) Block leveraged takeovers. The only allowable debt is 'good' debt (e.g. infrastructure) Prevent clubs from giving away equity of future TV/sponsorship rights (call it the Barcelona Rule) Global cap on agent fees related to both transfers and wages Incentivize clubs to keep (actual) homegrown talent and incentivize the player to stay. Maybe X amount of TV money set aside to help clubs pay the gap in a player's market value? Base wages don't count against cost figure? Bonus payment for every local player at the club? The last one goes against the idea of simplifying, but it seems worth it to me if it keeps even just a few more players at their original club for longer. The current model encourages the opposite.

Since Forest and Clough had the audacity to win the league in 77/78 you would have had the following champions: 78/79 - Liverpool 79/80 - Liverpool 80/81 - Villa 81/82 - Liverpool 82/83 - Liverpool 83/84 - Liverpool 84/85 - Everton 85/86 - Liverpool 86/87 - Everton 87/88 - Liverpool 88/89 - Arsenal 89/90 - Liverpool 90/91 - Arsenal 91/92 - Leeds 92/93 - Man United 93/94 - Man United 94/95 - Man United 95/96 - Man United 96/97 - Man United 97/98 - Arsenal 98/99 - Man United 99/00 - Man United 00/01 - Man United 01/02 - Arsenal 02/03 - Man United 03/04 - Arsenal 04/05 - Arsenal 05/06 - Man United 06/07 - Man United 07/08 - Man United 08/09 - Man United 09/10 - Man United 10/11 - Man United 11/12 - Man United 12/13 - Man United 13/14 - Liverpool 14/15 - Arsenal 15/16 - Leicester 16/17 - Tottenham 17/18 - Man United 18/19 - Liverpool 19/20 - Liverpool 20/21 - Man United 21/22 - Liverpool 22/23 - Arsenal 45 seasons and 39 titles won by three clubs. That is exactly what Richard Masters' puppeteers want the league to look like. Important to note I only changed one winner from 1978/79 through 2003/04. In the last 19 seasons I had to change 12 of them. They had a firm grip on the game and they lost it when Roman and then Sheikh Mansour turned up. They are now frantically trying to pull up the drawbridge before anyone else threatens their standing.

This makes more enjoyable reading after the last few months. Sorry Brummie. But seriously, my ideal season would have had us and Villa in the top 4. Maybe Villa can still get 5th, but a good chance of both clubs left wondering what could have been.

Ashworth in 2020: Ashworth in 2022: Ashworth in 2025:

Sometimes job hopping happens just as a matter of circumstance and timing. I think both moves can be pretty easily explained. If he goes it'd be a red flag if he's not at Man United for a decent amount of time.

We should ask for the same premium they wanted for Lingard.

It's in the Hope article, tucked between a video and an image. Easy to miss.

This is an interesting line that surely deserves more details: "Ashworth has not had as much control as he expected at Newcastle, the club he joined in the summer of 2022."

I think ours went from lower league standard to adequate Premier League standard. I think Manchester United's is just no longer world leading. A quick search tells me only 12 years ago they created a £25m medical facility at Carrington, which includes both hospital and sports science wings. It was outfitted with £13m of medical equipment from sponsor Toshiba.

I didn't realize this nonsensical quirk of the system. Why can't people running things do anything right?

End of the season. City's win last night put England second behind Italy, but if Bayern win tonight I think Germany will be back in 2nd. It's still too early. The picture will become clearer after the completion of the first knockout round in all three competitions.

It's obviously an extremely attractive job. One of the biggest clubs in the world in both revenue and stature, who have now not won the league in a decade because of incompetence and the quality of their two main rivals. Room for improvement without many of the obstacles we face. A close friend involved, which should mean there's trust in what they are trying to change, and closer to home. I think I'd be more surprised if he stays to be honest. It'd say a lot if he turns them down.

Is 7th possibly Europa League if England gets an extra CL place and the right teams win the cups?

It's hard to judge without knowing the wages and our subsequent plans. But as it stands not thrilled at the idea of almost £3m in wages for him when Tino seems to be more of a backup RB / RB of the future as opposed to the solution at LB.

On just about every metric from goals scored and against, goal difference, xG, xGA, and xPTS we've been better than them for two years. We've played them six times since the takeover and our record is 3W, 2D, 1L. But they finished above us last season, they probably will again this season, and they beat us in a final. That's what's so damn annoying.

This is going to get messy unless he just commits to us.

My son chose City because no Bellingham.

That third goal. Absolute catastrophe.