Tiresias

Oh well can't win em all, wish we'd not be so much worse away from home mind

You absolutely don't get to 'like' me and think me being gay is 'wrong'. It's part of the package, and I find that view often expressed by people excusing their prejudices as religious objections, that they 'love' someone, not their 'sexuality' or anything and it's an insidious work around to pretend that 'loving and accepting others' is an easy thing that requires no effort or empathy on someones part, it just becomes merely to patronize. There is a fundamental dishonesty at work there just the same as those racists who have one non-white friend at work whom they will insist is "alright". If someone thinks my sexuality is immoral that's fine that's your imperative, but don't sit here and pretend your hatred of it is 'love' in disguise because if they did they'd have to have a hard look at their own value system to acknowledge you hate someone and if they've read the bible cover to cover and think that's the message it's sending fine, it's all open to interpretation, but don't put a smile on and think they can be friends with me while holding that view. People can bring up 'gay marriage' as an issue as if that's a policy thing, but again if there wasn't any hate where is all the campaigning against atheists getting married, or indeed people of other religions getting married? And lets spell out, if they don't want me to get gay married they are saying I don't deserve to have my long term partner by my hospital bed when i'm dying, don't deserve to have all those legal rights, my love is lesser than an atheist marrying a jewish person or something? Again really, everyone is absolutely entitled to hold whatever views, but I am also free to not want to smile and make nice with someone who thinks i am lesser no matter if it is couched in 'niceness'. I love going to football matches, I do not confirm to the stereotype of a gay person so I can be fairly unnoticed in that crowd. My partner is too, so I'm not concerned about attending games, but it still meant a lot when i walked into the ground and there was a rainbow flag waving in the gallogate. Seeing their players with rainbow armbands may seem like nothing but could be important to some frightened 14 year old growing up in a macho strict family. All to same, it matters. I also do agree that i don't know enough about Guehi's viewpoint. I will give any benefit of the doubt if he ever clarifies or anything, it's not me trying to get him removed from polite society, i do not resent him enjoying a good career, i dont think anyone signing him is acting immorally, it's just at present not in danger of being a player i love (edited to change general 'you to they as i accidently made it sound targeted which wasn't meant)

It's so weird when a player trains to the point that his crossing is much better, his shooting is much better, and his on field intelligence and runs are a lot better and this feels so wildly unusual, i mean if murphy can do it can every other 'middling' winger? In truth reflects marvelously on his attitude, and the fact that he has got better so steadily it was hard to notice. He went from pretty useless to being a reliable decent runner who didn't really contribute creatively enough to this. I wonder is the the trick is he did it so under the radar opposition scouts havent been reporting him as a threat back and so he never gets doubled up on? He also reminds me a bit of how Pep deployed Sterling when he was good, not so much in style of play but in terms of just making sure at all times there is threat from out wide to stretch defence and stop teams just defending super narrow and deep. Turns out if you have a player always willing to press, always willing to run at defence, always willing to be direct every minute of the game they pick up goals and assists

One of the things i love about us at the moment is how likeable we are as a squad. When I finally make it to a match next season with my boyfriend it would be nice if the squad was still as likeable but i have to admit would diminish that likeability somewhat if one of the team didn't want it publicly known that he thinks i am living in sin etc. Now I don't mean to go overboard with this, he is entitled to his views completely and I will give benefit of any doubt that he didn't mean to spread any hatred etc etc but he wants it to be known that he doesn't like me so I don't really think it's mad to be a bit ambivalent about him in return. Whatever happened to love thy neighbour and judge not lest thee be judged?

Bruno giving shirt to that kid in brazil top, good lad

Get the fuck in

Did Howe ring up from Hospital at half time and say "lads it's man u"?

It's not worth blowing our wage structure for someone whom while a genius is not going to be capable of howes pressing regime and will definitely be out injured for a fair period of season.

Sounds a bit of a mess hesitant to call anyone a bad guy here. Get clubs concern but also get Winks putting family first in that situation. Really feels like surely a better solution can be found

I'd take the xG version with a pinch of salt it tends to slightly inflate the dominance of teams that have the ball and press high and make teams like Forest look worse. Yes their position is inflated by Chris Wood clealry overpoerforming and that will impact it a bunch but no I don't think they have played like a lower midtable team and got lucky which is kinda what the xg implies. I think it's a slight flaw in xg that illustrates. I am not against xG, but I think this more illustrates it's limitations than Forest fluking every game. To clarify they are overperforming, but it's i guess the 'wildly' bit ought to bring a bit of skepticism to the stats

I love a good stat as much as the next man, but i still fucking trust my eyes. Forgetting the getting us up from the championship first attempt (by no means guaranteed, plenty clubs have sunk), but once he worked out his team that 3-4-3 with lejeune, lascelles schar at the back we were playing good stuff. After a tough first half of the season second half things had begun to click. I'm not going to engage overly with the troll, but the Rafa years were so much better than what was to follow, pull as many stats as you want, I watched those games and i watched us under bruce, I can tell the fucking difference.

I imagine Forest will invest in summer, but could disrupt the squad a bit whom clearly have been feeding off being 'underdogs' a bit. They could i guess do a leicester and drop right off but I think harsh to write off now. I wonder if a bunch of players will jump ship for better wages elsewhere. Their style of play does protect a lot of the players from doing the intense running our players do but then it is all about Elanga and the rest of them willing to sprint length of the pitch regularly with pace. I also think Wood is clearly overperforming, again maybe harsh but doubt he'll be quite as lethal again...but maybe I'm wrong! The owner whom has been much mocked seems to be more canny than people gave him credit and he is ambitious, has said he wants the club to stay at that level and if he is able to keep signing players of the quality they have been why not?

We're definitely after a right winger, if we bring one in that is going to score a lot more goals from that side it makes the striker issue slightly less pressing, it kinda depends if Howe thinks Osula is the long term answer. I wouldn't be against us getting some veteran journeyman on a short term deal as cover

I was listening to a podcast on this, and one person was arguing that people would change how they play against them next season, the other person asked how and seemed to suggest it's impossible to play against a low block as if it's some impossible to beat strategy. The first person quite reasonably said that if it wasn't beatable how come everyone doesn't play low block? It's clearly that the modern game with very attacking full backs does leave a lot of space for counter attacking teams and then when you get a pure one every now and again they do very well, see Leicester when they won. I'm always a bit surprised it doesn't happen more, but I think you need the right group of players who accept they are going to be spending most games camped in their own half of most games. If you get on a winning run like Forest did you get confidence and believe that's fine, if you don't it's very dispiriting. I think a lot of clubs are at an institutional level (hell I wonder if there is some pressure from Sky in terms of it as a product) resistant to playing overly 'negatively' to protect the brand but I don't think what Forest do is that unappealing at all, their attacks are fast and good to watch. But still, you need to just have a degree of patience and attentiveness to their threat in transition. I don't think they can be totally 'found out', it's not like every manager could have beaten them, they are hard to break down, and very good at taking their few chances, always going to get you plenty of points. The surprise is how much it has worked out, but that has been aided I think by the 'top' teams being pretty weak this season. Even Liverpool haven't looked a 'classic' side. The irony is Arsenal were all expecting to win this year and they tried to move to a more negative style of play and it's just meant they don't score as much as they should. If they had Chris Wood this season they'd probably still be in title race...