Kid Icarus

TIL Dokko hates Keegan

Couldn't agree more. The logic is seriously lacking like. To hate Sunderland, look down on them as beneath us (which they should be), laugh at them for defining themselves by their opposition to us, for measuring their success based on whether they beat us, etc etc, but then hand them the power of having played a part in ousting the most successful manager in most of our lifetimes. The irony would be overwhelming.

We maybe would, but they'd still be much less bad than what we did get.

It doesn't matter whether you think what he's said is reasonable, you don't say these things publicly, allow your quotes to be the story and create additional pressure on the club, yourself, the manager, and the players in a situation where everyone outside the club and particularly in the media will be looking for a thread to pull at. It's incredibly basic.

and who could blame him.

I think it goes beyond that personally, but let's say it is that, you don't think it's a red flag that the club's CEO is fence sitting over the future of our manager?

"I don't have a stance on his future," he said. "Eddie is our manager. I expect to have a great run to the end of the season here and we will talk about the future when it's time. Those quotes coming from any CEO, let alone one who's normally the personification of an inspirational LinkedIn post is a huge red flag.

I'm working on the (fair imo) assumption that there's a scale that expands well, well below the 'awful' one we had, where Howe, Nickson, and Andy Howe don't step up to bail them out of a catastrophic window. The fish rots from the head and all that.

After Howe completely bailed them out of their own gross incompetence. No good deed goes unpunished.

I thought Eales's shtick was bad, and it was, but Jesus, I don't think there's been a moment where Hopkinson has said anything that's filled me with confidence, even when it was standard marketing guff. Not a fan of him so far.

FWIW, Chelsea also sold these assets to themselves to cover existing losses. The spending spree with them had already happened. It could be an indication that we'll use more of these moves in the future, but taking that article at its word, this stadium sale specifically isn't for future spending.

He didn't but if you read the article, the sale was apparently to cover losses and without it we'd have been 90 odd million in the red, so - taking that at its word - this is nothing to do with future spending, but to cover previous losses.

The stadium sale was June 2025.

It's a case of taking a fact (that the stadium sale was to cover losses rather than to create revenue) and running with it I think.

Hopkinson has been a car crash nigh on every time he's opened his stupid fucking mouth.

Long overdue. Short of the likes of Chelsea being properly punished and the entire league being given reparations for this sort of shit, this is the only just alternative for clubs to resort to. It's ridiculous.

Like that time a poster said they'd found the best porn of all time, didn't follow up, Mike posted "he's gone" and we didn't hear from him again.

I know everyone loves the Everton one because it's a proper "fuck off" shot, but the Spurs and Villa ones are incredible like. Can't think of any other goals remotely similar to them.

I don't really like the Geordie Journos because I can't stand how ridiculously fickle they all are. In my experience though they're pretty reliable.

Didn't have us as a dark horse, but went into the summer thinking that that was the next step we needed to attempt to make, fall well short, then go again.

Nothing about the quotes in that article suggest he's off in the summer tbf.

Yeah, this summarises most of my overriding feelings on where we are. As unenjoyable as the season's been for all the reasons we're familiar with, there's a parallel with the worst days of Ashley in that the worst part in all of it for me is that my eyes have been opened to what parts of our fanbase are like. It's hard not to think of our fanbase as this organic living thing, so to have seen the complete subservience and standing in the way of progress from the 'be careful what you wish for' crowd under Ashley's shameless long-term zombification of the club to now seeing the impatience for linear progression, entitlement for zero adversity, ignorance or indifference to mitigating circumstances, and subsequent 'let's risk everything' rhetoric under Howe, despite his incredible success in the short-term and having represented this club with a level of dedication, professionalism and success arguably better than anyone in the club's history, is as jarring as it is bile-inducingly galling. I'm not saying these are the same people, but seeing both rise to the surface in our fanbase is absolutely shit to witness. It's OTT but so much of the 'things have to change' rhetoric while absolving all responsibility for what that actually entails, disregard for the proficiency (or lack of) of those who would make the decision on a replacement, and how it's gone for us and other clubs who've made these decisions in the past keeps reminding me of similar situations that have been catastrophic for all of us outside of football: Brexit, successive Tory governments, Trump, and fitting neatly into the part of the analogy where no one ever fucking learns - a probable Reform government. Imo this cry for change from Howe is a Newcastle-level event along those lines and I don't think that's hysteria at all either. This basically:

Froggy can you not. Just one thread that isn't for you please.

Got any tips?

Full resets are usually catastrophic