Ace

I agree that they can in theory be good but the culture is toxic and needs to be changed. it’s hard to grow good crops on bad land .

Or they are correctly punishing fouls, I think a lot of bookings aren't given when they should be in the prem. Its interesting to note in that article also at no point does it imply the refs are doing a bad job just that they are being more strict in following the law, for me thats a good thing. My issue is more with VAR and again I have to disagree at every other level Ive seen it used it works much better than in the prem.

Didnt see that, if thats the case and the watch is buzzing and he hasnt given it, that is deliberate incompetence from the ref The only time I can think of was villa vs shef utd where it didn't go off till later and the point ended up relegating bournemouth

Yeah I remember when it used to be the attackers advantage. Something like the hawkeye system could surely be adjusted to give an advantage to the attacker again I hate what we have where the lines seem to suit to whomever is playing

If the decisions were the right decisions I wouldnt. The number doesnt matter in the slightest to me its whether they were the correct decisions and consistent with other decisions. It is Good article but the point isn't about the number of cards its about the number of wrong decisions. The article even states that there are more reds because of a consistent level to punish challenges that may cause injuries and a harsher stance on dissent/abuse which is a good thing dont you think?

Do you agree with simple factual things like goal line tech or the hawkeye offsides or are you just against it all?

I disagree with both you and the article on this. The article makes out that if there isn't abuse the refs will be better. I agree that players shouldn't be being abusive to the refs (putting in an only captains can speak to the ref without being spoken to would be a great idea IMO) but a referee is one of the few jobs where the consequences for incompetence is so low. Its not like removing the abuse makes the refs suddenly better. The VAR officials arent getting abuse and they are getting it wrong so much. As for your point about VAR, I dont watch every game in other leagues/european football but there never seems to be the sheer amount of wrong decisions and they never seem to take as long either. Personally think the English refs are getting it wrong big style as evidenced by week after week of bad decisions.

weve been linked to both, Marcus is the winger/forward who is on a free Khephren is the box to box centre mid who plays for Nice Both good players, Todibo the CB is the one Im most keen on from Nice though.

Wonder how many times it will mention the nonce they had playing in all 6 and how their fans cheered for him ?

Think them vs Liverpool is a coin flip as both have none existent midfields based on recent games but both have quality forwards. Hopefully Villa can do them (hopefully after not turning up vs us)

Yeah his son was terrible and his mates in the media just chatted shit. You kept hearing he was a nice guy but every time he got a question that wasn’t sugarcoated he’d strop like and radge like a bairn. Nothing was his fault. 2 years in it was Rafas fault we were negative yet Howe cast off all his shit in a couple of months. Dean Smith did similar with you. Also he’s a slumlord so doubly fuck him

Sorry I didn’t make myself clear, I meant as a potential second ground in the midlands if they did go for 12? I was thinking of Euro 2020 but that was 12 venues due to its unique set up. 2016 was 10 and 2024 in Germany will be 10 I wonder if it’s a multi bid because of the Euro 2020 drama

5 wins and beating Spurs would. I like to air on the side of caution Spurs have struggled but it’s not beyond the realms of possibility they win 6 of 8 and draw one of the other 2 if the beat us. Brighton winning 9/10 seems tougher so 5 should see them off. Anyone else would need us to collapse.

Which particular one in the midlands? Didn’t think any of the others were near 40k never mind 50k? My initial point was why didn’t they go for 12 grounds rather than 10 as it fit the tournament better but if there is 6 in England it’s hard to argue with the 6 locations

Think the worst part of Bruce was how he just peddled Ashley’s lines and played on all the media biases against us to try and excuse his incompetence while pretending to be one of the fans.

6 wins should do it Going to be a challenge as every team we have to play has something to play for. Next 2 games are the biggest indicators of how it will go for us.

Thing is Manchester/Liverpool are pretty close together so there’s 2 in a similar region. Is there any other stadium suitable in the midlands? As would think that region would make the most sense for an extra one other than Yorkshire South-South West could have been a shout but only really Bristol City of decent size and that would still need expansion

When the metro is running with extra trains Ive found it no worse than getting out of town on a match day personally

If they need 4/5* hotel it could be the difference maker. The metro runs to Sunderland and they have a decent bus network so public transport links are reasonable and not much worse than Newcastle. The political side of it could be true, could maybe go for Leeds with an expansion as another area but still relatively close. Would be a bit harsh to rule out a 49000 seater on a 50k limit.

Think that’s a bit of an exaggeration. Public transport and policing can survive both us and them at home with 80k+ at both combined. They may need to pay a bit overtime but it’s definitely manageable. As for hotels there are loads of towns on the metro in striking distance which can ease the burden. It’s not like they all have to stay in Newcastle or the dark place. Another option instead of SOS could be bellend road like Euro 96.

Obviously stepping up to the prem needs to be taken into account but I think he'd be ideal for what we are looking for to unleash Bruno, very press resistant on the ball and really strong on the defensive side of things. Sporting seem to have a conveyor belt of good midfielders having Ugarte after selling Palhinha and Nunes

Think its a bit strange going for 10 stadiums when there are 6 groups, surely it would make more sense having 12 grounds so each group has 2 stadiums and each stadium gets 3 group games and either a second round or quarter final game. If you added Parkhead and the oversized B&Q stadium you could have 6 nice regional fits: Scotland: Parkhead/Glasgow London: Wembley/Spurs South West/wales: Villa/Cardiff Ireland: Dublin/Belfast North West; Ettihad/Kings Dock North East: St James/ SOS

Putting a statement out saying they arent sacking someone very Watford Chris Wilder has had a fall from grace, everything he touched seemed to turn to gold but failed miserably at the smoggies and has Watford sinking

I used to think Titus was like that, used to watch him and think hes looking good and then he'd do something incredibly stupid and you'd feel like an idiot for thinking he might be good.

I agree with this as though he can be inconsistent he offers something different to our other wingers and adds to our creativity