ponsaelius

Might as well have just blown for full-time when Joselu came on.

Yeah I said that about Shaqiri the other week. In an organised, well coached side Shaqiri is a good option wide right. He plays there for the national team and the issues of workrate and attitude never come to fore as they have done for Stoke. He is however never a #10. Constantly struggles to play there.

Sorry I meant Calais, no idea why I typed Cannes.

It's a great set-up with the sports club there. Days like yesterday really make me think again that football below a certain level would be far better running into the summer. Great weather and no professional game to compete with would mean bigger crowds. Especially if you organize the clubs in a community/social focused way.

The FA Cup had 737 teams enter this year. The Coupe de France had 8506, including teams from 8 overseas departments and territories. It never actually stops, because some of the regional qualifying for the following year's competition begins before the final has even been played.

They're playing an arguably bigger game at the weekend to try and avoid relegation to the 4th tier. The French Cup is a truly brilliant competition. Quevily (also division 3) and Calais (division 4) have made finals this millennium too, both only lost by the odd goal.

I hate him aswell. His shit patter and analogies man. Fuck off Aye he's a weapon. Thought both his Sheff Wed side and Swansea were a horrible bunch of snide bastards when they played up here.

Roofing as a club were pretty much the work of one bloke. Was always liable to go the wall once he decided to retire. Went along to Hebburn yesterday. Lovely set-up they've got there.

Yeah I was gonna suggest Joe Bryan on here. He's been excellent the few times I've seen him, particularly against Man Utd in the cup. He's 32 in October and playing in the 7th tier. He's not the next Jamie Vardy. Billericay have just bought the league by signing players from the level above for daft money.

Will there be fresh season ticket sales this summer or are we at the non-matchday capacity?

Derp

And the ref adds on 2 mins of added time.

VAR is such a joke. 4 minutes they spent on that Bologna penalty.

Why? A team from outside the major leagues winning a European trophy (even if they're sponsored by Red Bull) would make me feel there's still some hope for "lesser" teams in Europe. Is France a major league? Yes. Haven't won a European trophy for 25 years. There's not a French side with the history of Benfica. 22 years. PSG won the Cup Winners Cup in 1996. Even when you're arguing an accurate point (about the relative failure of French football) you still manage to fuck up.

I like Mbemba but he's probably never going to be a defender Benitez has confidence in. Rafa would take a more limited player who can head things away and is more likely to stand in the right place.

Hahahaha never a corner. Scheisse Red Bull

Oh and there was regulations against it at the time and still is now.

It could happen again, but is unlikely to become a common occurrence. Even in the commercialised modern English game the concept of a franchise doesn't really work, because the marketable aspects of a football club are so intrinsically linked to the identity of the clubs and where they're from. The Wimbledon case was a very specific example because they had been without a home for over a decade and were unique having developed a fanbase that had spread beyond their early non-league roots in Merton. It was also unique in that you had a large New Town urban area that didn't have a Football League club. This is very rarely the case owing to both the way football culture and urban areas have developed in the UK, and the Milton Keynes (and the two similar Scottish examples) are basically circumstantial perfect storms. There really isn't in my opinion a great deal to be gained from moving a British football club. The failure of the MK Dons project is evidence of that.

Real rarely keep a clean sheet even against the real dross of La Liga. On paper, the game should finish about 5-4. True, but i mean Roma are a very bad team and they've put 6 past them. Benzema/Bale/Ronnie/Isco. It prob goes against most peoples opinnion but im not sold on Trent Alexander Arnold. Gets caught out a lot imo No Champions League semi-finalists are 'very bad' teams. Except maybe Schalke in 2011. Mate come on, Roma are objectively ass. Juan Jesus as CB. You're not shit if you knock out Barca, Atletico etc and lose a semi final by one goal. They made a mess of the first leg, but then so did Man City against Liverpool.

Real rarely keep a clean sheet even against the real dross of La Liga. On paper, the game should finish about 5-4. True, but i mean Roma are a very bad team and they've put 6 past them. Benzema/Bale/Ronnie/Isco. It prob goes against most peoples opinnion but im not sold on Trent Alexander Arnold. Gets caught out a lot imo No Champions League semi-finalists are 'very bad' teams. Except maybe Schalke in 2011.

The £3 million or so spent on him is worth it in that he directly contributed to two winning goals, and no doubt his mere presence in the club lifted the gloom of the transfer window and also gave Gayle a kick up the arse. Certainly not a shite signing when you view it through the prism of the greater context. We move on in the summer.

The other teams coming down + Charlton. Birmingham or Reading would make things interesting, Burton and Barnsley less so.

Nah will cost daft money I think.

Talking about the players that they'll have eating into the wagebill, it's only really Cattermole and Rodwell which are the issue, which is manageable. Most of the rest of their squad are out of contract or on loan, and they'll be able to shift all of the others that aren't IMO. I know it's nice to think about them struggling again, but I'd be stunned if they don't come straight back up. Getting out of the Championship again could easily be 10 years away though.