leffe186

It was just such fun that first year - loads of cheap young players coming in, building an identity, a manager we all loved (once Santini got binned). Thinking we could challenge the hegemony. Then Russia Abramovich crushed us again.

Yeah, was all very similar to Arnesen - even more so as his role was relatively rare in English football at the time. We called him Funtime Franky . Was actually an integral part of why I hated what Chelsea/Abramovich did so much.

Yeah, we ended up getting 5-8M from Chelsea after those photos came out. Still feels like it should be more.

Laporta hilariously lied about the Bergvall deal to make him and/or his fans feel better . Got called out by Djurgarden for it. It’s so transparent.

Nearly 20 years after Chelsea poached Arnesen. Lots of pretendy bullshit from Chelsea exposed when someone actually had pictures of Arnesen on Abramovich’s yacht. Take Man U to the fucking cleaners. How much did you pay Brighton for him?

Rafalove linked with utter bullshit from Barcelona.

Quite enjoying having three interesting fames I don’t really give a shit who wins on. Ipswich look far too good for Millwall, Bayern and Lazio look uninspired, PSG has been fun. Refs have clearly decided to fuck off yellows for timewasting and cynicism though.

It’s genuinely hard to tell if Chris Sutton is playing an incredibly long trick on us all with his commentary. It just so often seems to be utter nonsense delivered in a peculiar way.

Well yeah, that’s why he did it like that. Just saw the Carvajal tackle. I mean, that ref’s just straight-up cheating.

The camera for the Bristol City match is somewhere in the stratosphere.

I like to see home teams’ hopes crushed more so that tips the balance for me.

Mixed emotions here

Just got in. Is he seriously doing this again? Didn’t he just get a ban?

I think I’m at the ABA stage of the season now.

“Where appropriate”. I’ll tell him where it’s appropriate.

I’ll give it another go. I think Lineker is terrific, but I’m not wholly convinced by Shearer on a podcast and Richards is a bit like having Kaka on at times.

Any decent general (English) footy podcasts out there worth a listen? Feeling a gap this morning.

It’s just what always happens, we’ve seen it a million times. There’s an issue (deliberate cynical fouls to stop a counter). The authorities instruct refs to clamp down on it. They do, and there is a rash of bookings. Most managers whinge and cry, some refs start to back off, certain teams get favourable treatment (looking at you here, Man City). At some point (always before the problem is fixed) refs start getting hung out to dry and it all falls apart. Cynical fouls, diving, 6-second rule for keepers, stupid penalty run-ups, time-wasting on dead balls, whatever. It’s always the same. And fuck blue cards. Just apply the rules - sorry, laws, who gives a fuck.

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-13051579/amp/Jim-Ratcliffe-Old-Trafford-Wembley-North-project-rebuild-Manchester-United.html Levelling up indeed.

Fun game this.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/68186145 The Bellingham-Greenwood thing. My gut tells me it’s silly that we have a lip-reader assessing what he said, but I imagine if It was something racist (for example) that was alleged I’d be more pissed at Bellingham? Not sure what I think about this.

Just imagine the sort of decisions you’re going to see when we play there.

Forgot to post about this the other night after the Man City game, walking the dog tonight reminded me: I was walking the dog past my old primary school that night when I saw a bright blue glow on the horizon to the east. I quickly realized that you can now see the Tottenham Stadium from there. We moved my Mum to a flat overlooking the pitch I played my first proper match on - just down the road from my house - and you can see it even better from her balcony. It’s so tall it’s now visible over houses and flats in between. I’m not even sure what the little thing is really, just that I felt quite emotional when I realized what I was looking at. It’s the same primary school my Dad went to in the 50s, while he was living in that same house…with his Uncle Cyril who took him to Spurs. We’d walk down that same road together on the way to Spurs games in the 80s. So I guess that’s what it is. “We sometimes lose sight of what sport is about. I have come to understand this. It’s not about winning or losing, it’s about the connections it makes. It connects people, cities and countries. It connects parents to their children.” Coming back here restores the direct physical connection with the club too - and that really does mean something. Still.

They won’t let you make that mistake again.