ponsaelius

The thing with the Dutch is they've always had starting XI players who you think - hmm not quite top level. I mean look at 2010 - Heitinga and (I think) Matthijsen at centre back. But they've been carried by a handful of world class players and in knock-out football that can be enough especially if you have a great way of playing and can ride the wave of a short format tournament. It can also blow up in your face, as it has with the Dutch many times before with even their good sides. With this current generation, the 3 or 4 stars aren't there now, and you're just left with the mediocrity. That's the reality of it and that's the reality of coming to the end of a great generation with a medium sized nation. It's really not too different to the Czechs falling off a cliff after 2004. It's from a greater high, and to a higher trough, but it's by and large the same thing.

No Uruguay is clearly #1 on that front. On a smaller level Iceland's current generation is pretty remarkable. It can't be overstated how impressive it is that a country of 300k is qualifying for major tournaments. They're making a mockery of how pundits view qualifying games against minnows like Malta and Luxembourg which are actually bigger countries in terms of critical mass. It can be done no matter how small.

Belgium have been to more World Cups than the Dutch. 12 vs 10. It's just their peaks haven't been so great when they've had fantastic generations. They were still runners up at the Euros in 1980 and 4th place at the World Cup in 1986. This generation hasn't finished its run yet.

Netherlands didn't enter the WC in 1950, 1954 and didn't qualify for the World Cup in 1958, 1962, 1966, 1970, 1982, 1986, 2002 and now 2018. That's a lot of missed World Cup's for a footballing powerhouse. No they're a smaller country that has massively punched above its weight, and has now regressed slightly after some great success. It's just they have achieved so much, and produced so many fantastic players, that expectations are above and beyond.

They were also absolutely shite pre-1974. Smaller nations are always more liable to come a cropper eventually, and their declines are more obvious. When Germany had their slump that caused them to rip apart their whole system there was still enough there to make a World Cup final.

TBF as I've said before on here it's more surprising that a European country like the Netherlands of ~15 million people has been consistently successful than it is shocking that they are finally having a duff generation. They're closer to the likes of Belgium, Czech Republic and Romania (who have had huge peaks and troughs in terms of player production) than they are the likes of England, France and Germany. Population obviously isn't everything, but it's a factor that gives them some leeway. They're long overdue this slump.

Hard to take rugby seriously when a top flight professional can't catch a falling ball with both their hands and a footballer can do it with the instep of one foot.

Yeah he's a total weapon based on his Twitter account. Couldn't be arsed.

It's an obligation to buy so essentially it's already a completed transfer last summer, just dodgy Italian accounting. They have a few midfielders they'll sell first, so might be a tough deal to do, but everybody is for sale at the right price to Samp.

Yeah he sounded like somebody we'd have done well to get. Unfortunately I don't think Rafa was gonna be allowed a left back while Haidara, Gamez and Lazaar were all on the books. Definitely a position I'd imagine we'd see somebody coming in during the summer, to offer a more attacking option to Dummett (and to allow us to play with wing-backs). In terms of striking targets this summer I would put pretty good money on Sampdoria's Duvan Zupata being on Rafa's list. He bought him, played him, and liked him at Napoli. He's a player where you basically know what you're gonna get, and while it's not necessarily spectacular, I reckon he'd be solidly effective in the PL.

I don't think Napoli will sell him unless they get crazy money, as he's so important to the way they play. It's more likely they move Diawara on. I actually don't think Jorginho will be anywhere near as good somewhere else, for what it's worth.

There's a Wrexham fan who's flying back from China for Wrexham's home game on Saturday and then back out again on Sunday to watch Wales again in the China Cup final. :lol:

So why would it be better or more authentic in the US ? ASlso which ingrediants are rare over here necessary in Indian cooking ? Shit man we've had the banana for nigh on a millenia now. I never said it was more authentic. I've never even had Indian food in the US, and perhaps that is indeed a culinary blindspot for some cultural reason in terms of immigrants going there. I was simply pointing out that 'Indian' food in the UK is actually in many ways British food, and Anglo-Bangladeshi fusion food in itself. The kind of cultural melting that has happened a million times over in the US when it comes to food, and provided a very diverse cuisine. The ingredient point is an obvious one. We are a small island with one specific small type of climate. That means if you want to make exotic food a large amount of ingredients have to be imported. Of course in a globalized world this is possible, but actually at the price point of delivering affordable food in a cheap restaurant (as opposed to a Michelin star restaurant) a lot of smaller restaurants will cut corners in delivering fabled authenticity. In the US this is less of a problem since they have far easier access to all climates within and very near to their borders. Bored with this now. It really isn't much of a controversial statement for somebody to argue that food in terms of diversity and quality in the US is probably higher than the UK. It's an almost insurmountable inevitability in terms of geography and demographics. As good as London might be particularly at the top end.

Of course they do. I never said that was necessarily a problem.

You've probably not had many in the UK either, since most 'Indian' food here is Bangladeshi and Pakistani restaurants who have anglicized dishes for British tastes and to more obtainable ingredients. Indeed it is essentially a British food in itself, and a success story of immigration. Exactly the kind of thing I'm referring to when it comes to the variety and types of food in the US.

I doubt it. The choice and variety of food especially in big American cities like NY or LA that somebody like Matt LeBlanc would be used to is obviously enormous. Try getting a decent Mexican, Japanese, Korean, Vietnamese etc restaurant in the UK and it's difficult and it's likely that even the good ones in London won't be as good as your average one in America. It's a simple fact of numbers of people from those places in both countries, and the obvious geographical advantage in terms of access to ingredients within the countries' borders. That's before you even get into the plethora of fusion cuisine that exists in America due to 400 years of immigration and exchanging of ideas, that certainly does not exist authentically in the UK. I can absolutely see why anybody who comes from a major US city would be disappointed with the quality and variety of food in Britain. That's not to say there isn't good places, or that there isn't world class restaurants, it's just they're harder to find or narrower in options. Certainly in terms of walking out of your door and walking into the first place you find.

It bugs me. Another thing that bugs me, Matt LeBlanc said the thing he doesn't like about the UK is the food. What's he eating or not getting here that he can get in the USA? Is this a serious post? Variety and choice of food in America is far greater than here, due to the much greater cultural diversity and the easier access to ingredients.

Vile to have egg chasing being played in our beautiful stadium once again.

Big goal for Napoli.

Yep. If they’re right up the top attendances will be good (might even have to open the top tier!). Around the playoffs and they’ll probably be not too bad. Anything less than that and they’ll be woeful. In 87 their attendances went up about 25% in the 3rd division, then fell again by about the same amount on return to the 2nd division.

As shambolic as they are at the moment, and as toxic as the club is right now, it would take something special for them to struggle again next year in League One. Their wage budget as a percentage of turnover permitted by FFP, even with half of it eaten up by the likes of Cattermole/Rodwell hanging around, will still leave them with 5 or 6 times the budget of clubs down there. So long as they're proactive they could hoover up all the best players in that division as the vast majority move around on free transfers.

For example Sheff Utd were averaging 21k last year with highs of 30k. Sunderland are a bigger club with historically higher attendances, if they're putting together a fun title charge of that magnitude they will comfortably beat out that. If they remain a disorganised mess and slump to mid-table, their attendances will be even worse than this year.

It depends how they do next season. If they're winning every week the current no-shows who give up their season tickets will come back on a game to game basis. Their average attendance next year could be anywhere from about 15k to 30k really depending on how they do. People like a winning team regardless of what division it's in.

Camera director in the Napoli - Genoa game has spent the whole match picking out blart in the crowd.

Got to feel for the woman like, she just doesn't want to see her house wrecked.