St. Maximin

He’ll surely be in the Harvey Barnes category of always being known by his full name.

I don’t get why him out of our back five. I actually thought Newcastle fans overrated him a bit… maybe not just Newcastle fans now

My favourite moment has to be new members on this forum being told their posts are unoriginal. Never gets old.

So we have to be a dick then to have all those things? Ok then.

Err isn’t that what most teams do, fouling all game? I don’t really care whether Murphy reacts like that or Lascelles gets booked when off the pitch to be fair. But I’m not going to be like “hahaha we’re such good shithouses aren’t we” when it happens.

Our shithousery is nothing to be proud of tbh. I like the aggression, passion and desire to win. We can have all that without being a dick.

Hope they change their name to Nottingham Wood as a mark of respect. Best of luck big Chris.

For my sins I grew up in Kent so can nail a sarfeast Lahndaan accent if needed.

I’m going to this. My local team since moving near to Crystal Palace. Going to be sat with the home fans though, so will be a bit awkward constantly having to prevent myself from celebrating all our goals.

Aye but he’s such a ‘likeable’ player though, that Son is.

At times, watching Mahrez is just like watching Almiron.

Back in the late 90s, living just down the road in Kent, I heard this bloke called Shearer could play a bit and also my parents got a black and white cat. No brainier really. It was the Dalglish area too so I missed the Keegan era fun. Been questioning my choice for years . Not a Geordie but did end up going to Newcastle Uni in 2008. It wasn’t my first choice, but I’m sure the football subconsciously helped me pick it. I ended up staying there until 2020, had a terrific time and became friends with many passionate Newcastle fans who I speak to all the time. Questionable timing given I moved there not long after Ashley took over and left not long before he left, but can’t have it all…

I didn’t pay too much attention to him at Brighton, but Potter is a bit overhyped surely? He finished below Bruce in 2021 and we had ASM and Wilson missing for quite a bit that year. Saying that, Chelsea is one of those clubs it just seems would be a bad move for a lot of managers, even though I can’t say why. Now the second best team in Fulham and third best in west London…

Was he not playing as a wing-forward rather than midfield? Or rotating a bit with Willock? He played there a fair bit under Bruce and was his preferred role at Hoffenheim I believe. Either way the change is ridiculous whatever the position. Crazy how easy he makes physically dominating other players and winning the ball cleanly.

Attitudes to ASM clearly go deeper than racism/xenophobia. However, I wouldn’t be surprised if it plays a part in some situations. He is black, French, a skilful winger/playmaker, is not the most consistent or hard-working*, wears Gucci and active on social media. Combination of some of these can typically contribute to speculation about someone’s attitude in my view. Even if you leave his race out, the skilful but mercurial French/North African winger/playmaker seems to (rightly or wrongly) have a few notable examples. *I don’t watch him as much as some, but I wouldn’t say he’s particularly lazy anyway - just not good at defending. But that and the other things might contribute to that view of him. Either way, I think players are often known for their work rate due to their lack of ability (Ritchie, Gouffran etc). No one comments about how hard-working Bruno or Trippier are, for example. (I know I lazily named myself after him, which is a bit lame. Bit late to change now…)

Yeah it’s the norm. Most Dutch people I’ve met play it, often to a very high standard. Though plenty of whom I’ve met through playing hockey myself (sadly not to a very high standard). Bit disappointed seeing Botman wasn’t keen on it mind

I find if players are ‘lazy’ maybe there’s something a bit more complex going on with their personal life, mental health. I really doubt he’s satisfied with his professional situation the past few years - sure he would much rather the days of being an exciting talent than washed out, moved around clubs and getting booed by fans. He’s still a young lad and had a difficult upbringing, so I’d imagine still needs the right guidance to set him straight. I do also agree his position might not be the easiest to stay effective in and maybe his attitude has resulted from his frustration to find form again.

Southgate is a man I will always have a lot of respect for and will associate with some of my favourite memories of watching England so far in my life. I don’t think those are reasons to keep him on though and he should leave deserving of a lot of praise. I think we now know this is a very talented side (weaker starting line-up than 2006, but more depth) that should be thinking of itself as among the best and should no longer be seen as brave losers doing the nation proud etc. I think Southgate’s ability to create a positive culture and environment cannot be understated, but ultimately I think he lacks that winning mentality and so will only take us so far. Different sport I admit, but I can’t help but look at the impact McCullum and Stokes have had following a previous overly cautious coach and captain. It may not always work but it seems to allow talented players to thrive and probably has a significant impact mentally on the opposition too.

Yeah maybe. I don’t massively care either way personally mind - he was rightly sent off and a penalty was awarded, but it was definitely cheating. He wouldn’t be the first or last to though and for balance the reaction I agree is a bit weird and maybe a bit patronising to Ghana. There’s other things he’s done that should spark more outrage.

I would say stopping an otherwise certain goal (and winner) through intentionally breaking the rules is very much cheating. He cheated and gained an advantage of a potential missed pen followed by extra time and shootout albeit with 10 men, as opposed to almost certain automatic disqualification. It was mainly his celebration that annoyed people though, but him since being proven to be a terrible bloke and complete weirdo hasn’t helped him. Also, is it really what everyone would do or would they not just try and head it? I know he’s not the tallest but he’s not that tiny ?

I think he’s being overfamiliar. Wonder if Des Lynam will be sharing his outrage at this.

Commentators trying to subtly show off their basic geographical knowledge in international tournaments. “There were some wild scenes in the bars and cafes of Seoul” when South Korea progressed in 2002, or “you’d think this would be Marrakech or Casablanca with an atmosphere like that” after the Morocco national anthem etc.

Presenter got confused on the draw. Bit of a poor error. Guessing if we get a draw we’ll be heading to the Stadium of Light for the replay.

I’m a bit surprised at the comments a about the football being bad. To me it’s just like the group stages of most other World Cups I remember since 1998, aside from 2010, which was notably worse with the football only Forlan knew how to kick. Some dull matches devoid of quality or attacking football and some exciting matches with a fair share of shocks. International football is often a bit cagey and defensive and the quality is by and large nowhere near the best teams in the Champions League etc. We knew what to expect in general. Of course like most people I don’t like the timing or choice of location, but I don’t think that’s really changed how good or bad the football is.

There’s also Mount, who has persistently offered very little for England in the Euros and WC so far. I like him - great player for Chelsea and clearly a good pro, but Southgate’s insistence on not even subbing him is weird. Even if you don’t want to start Foden as a CAM, he should be prepared to come on there. I can understand starting Sterling and Saka the other day after the Iran match. With all those poorly performing players though, it’s a shame Foden couldn’t be trusted to add something different. It’s clearly a sigh of Southgate’s weaknesses - don’t know how to manage one of your most talented players, so leave him out completely and stick with players he can ‘trust’ (ie often reliable but not normally effective).