TheBrownBottle

Ho’way United

No, you’re right - got the tune mixed up in my head, hence the deleted comment from me saying I was talking bollocks - early hours here in Sydney, brain mixed up

Shiiiiiiiiiiit on, shiiiiiit on, shit on the bastards below, below

Bump

The funniest part will be the bit that the Reading fans don’t know. That’s that Ashley doesn’t know anything about football, and doesn’t appear to enjoy it very much. He learned nothing in a decade and a half at NUFC - the mistakes were the same, the philosophy was the same. Repeated failures punctured by two lucky breaks - Graham Carr’s scouting at the start of the 2010s, and Rafa’s approach in 2016. And that’s it - 14 and a bit years of the doldrums, having taken over a club which had a higher turnover than Spurs and Man City in 2007 despite finishing bottom half that year. He couldn’t be told he was wrong, and refused to learn anything.

It’s bizarre that other fans still do. No-one knows what went on at a club better than it’s own supporters - I tend to pay heed to what others say about owners/managers/players. You can approach things with scepticism, of course, but the noise coming out of Newcastle re Ashley should have been deafening. But the likes of Reading will be infused with regional-based bigotry and years of shite spouted by sympathetic elements in the press. The ‘deluded Geordies’ narrative.

NUFC has had terrible bad luck with injuries as far back as I can remember (though I don’t doubt that someone can produce stats on this which shows we’re just average - it could just be a perception thing).

There’s nothing done to date which suggests that PIF view the KSA league as a feeder for NUFC. My guess would be that the other way round is more likely.

Previous performance is pretty solid data for estimating future performance. On the basis of what he did at NUFC, I wouldn’t be overly confident of him making a success of Reading.

This whole confederation rotation horseshit isn’t likely to come to an end, but it should. Bloated world cups played in completely inappropriate places. I’m losing all interest with international football

Likewise. I feel like how one of those trophy wives who marry 90-year-old billionaires must feel - the prospect of him keeling over is thrilling, no matter how much of a bad person it makes me

Honestly, Ashley is the perfect fit for a club like Reading. They don’t have a history to speak of (unlike Newcastle, Coventry, Derby), aren’t from a big football area (the town is one of the blandest I’ve ever been to), and his mismanagement is unlikely to attract any media attention. They’re assuming that he’ll have them lower mid-table like we were - which would of course be epoch-making at a club like Reading. He won’t though; he would actually need to invest in the club to get them to that point, which he didn’t need to for us to be there.

I really do think he’ll be the hardest member of the squad to replace. A guaranteed goal scorer, who is also ‘happy’ (well, accepting of the need) to be rotated, and isn’t on insane money. Absolutely love the bloke - I’m not sure you can actually be a Geordie and not love a proper no.9.

I think his ability to buy a foul is a real talent, and speaks of his ball control and vision - though I do think you’ll get refs like the one at the weekend who’ll stop blowing for FKs after a while, particularly if they may have made a controversial decision against the other team earlier in the game. When that starts happening, he needs to knock it on the head and start releasing the ball.

It’s nowt to get too wound up about, of course - but it’s such an odd thing to commemorate. Leeds’ title win in 1992 holds no less cache than Man Utd’s title win in 1993

It’s not about what it is called tbf - it’s the chopping away of over a century of history (incl records) to make daft new ones. Shearer is the 5th highest goal scorer in top flight history - and 2nd highest post-war (and being second to Jimmy Greaves isn’t bad). Which is an incredible record. The ‘Premier League record scorer’ thing is absolutely meaningless - it’s just when a cadre of clubs broke away administratively from the rest of the league due to pure, unadulterated greed. It has no stock or value.

It’s not even November tbf - I wouldn’t worry for a second re points ahead / behind. Don’t forget - a League Cup win = European football next year, too

Yep, and it doesn’t stand up to any scrutiny.

Aye, I think you’re right, though I do think that a great keeper is worth more points per season than a great centre half etc

Fair enough - if I could pick one game to win, it’s this one. We’re not winning the European Cup or league title this season. This - along with the one I’d really love to win in May - is our chance of finally winning something. The league gives lots of chances to catch back up - and top 5 likely finishes in the European Cup next season.

A goalkeeper is the second most important position to get right after a centre forward, for me. Spending £50m+ to get the right one wouldn’t be a worry.

We’ve never been particularly well served in that department, as far as I’m concerned - but he’s the equal of Given, for me, as a keeper. Given’s distribution with his feet was also shaky, as was his handling of crossed. Great shot-stopped.

He’s a back up centre half - I think he’s done bloody well considering the time out. I wouldn’t be surprised to see him swapped out next summer, but I hope he’s loving every second of playing at the minute. Other than a single blip (being positive about Ashley in an interview), the lad has been professional and committed to the club since the day he joined. Next season would be his traditional testimonial year, but if he does leave in the summer I’d still like to see the club give him one. He’s one of our longest serving club captains, after all.

I’d rather see us win a trophy than finish top 6/7. I’ve seen us finish top 6/7 a dozen times - would much rather see us with a bit of silverware. Also, I don’t think it is either / or. edit: also, I understand winning things does actually lead to European football

The CL draw was a highlight of the season for me. Loved it