England

[Guest firetotheworks]

Brilliant (long!) read about France 98 - some great insight!

 

I didn’t realise Osama’s mob wanted to kill Big Al!

 

 

https://www.eurosport.co.uk/football/world-cup/2018/the-hod-complex-england-and-the-1998-world-cup_sto6795833/story.shtml

Really enjoyed that apart from the Campbell "goal". It was never a foul in a million years.

Shearer full on elbowed the Argie keeper

It would be a foul now, but it wasn't then. The 'keeper didn't even react to it, it was really soft.

When did elbowing keepers in the head become a foul?

 

When it's barely an elbow at all? When the 'keeper doesn't react because he barely touched him, if at all? As I said, it was really soft.

I'd suggest you watch it again. Barely an elbow my arse, and the keeper puts his hand up for a free kick straight away

 

Literally just watched it before posting.

 

the keeper puts his hand up for a free kick straight away

 

Kind of my point. Must have been a canny brutal elbow if he was able to immediately claim for a free kick, completely unaffected and standing.

 

I'm sure this is nothing to do with it being England like.

Pretty similar reaction to how Karius reacted to Ramos' elbow the other week. Are you sure you're looking at it from the best angle?

 

Your last sentence is embarrassing

 

Accurate though.

 

The Karius elbow that wasn't a free kick to Liverpool, you mean? Karius went down and ironically wasn't given as a free kick.

The elbow that he was concussed from There's something wrong with your eyes if you've seen the Shearer elbow from the best angle and don't think its a clear foul.

 

I have absolutely no dislike for England btw, not sure how you've come to that conclusion

 

Yeah, I know which one you mean and it was an obvious elbow and a foul should have been given. I'm saying Karius went down so it's nothing like the Argentina 'keeper incident. I've said it was a foul, just that it wasn't in '98, or at the least it was soft considering how unaffected the Argentina 'keeper was.

[Guest Howaythetoon]

It's called 'Quickly Kevin, Will He Score?'

 

https://itunes.apple.com/gb/podcast/quickly-kevin-will-he-score-the-90s-football-show/id1209129231?mt=2

 

 

 

 

Cheers mate and aye that’s the very words Will give it a listen tomorrow.

[Sifu]

Is there anyone else who isn't really feeling it in regards to their support towards England in this upcoming World Cup?

 

I'm seeing all sorts on my Twitter and Facebook about how this squad is a group of "likeable" players who we should all rally behind and that to do so otherwise is being unnecessarily pessimistic and idiotic. I can understand the need for togetherness and "unconditional" support to help see the team through but there's still a few players in that squad who I really (maybe irrationally) detest and to bring myself to celebrate a success to those particular players would be a somewhat hard thing to do. My passion for the England team has really dwindled over the last 6 years or so and that's probably down to the constant disappointment during that time (in tandem with enduring us in that time as well). Who knows, maybe I'll put my fairweather hat on and get hyped when I watch that first England game but at the moment, there's nothing there

 

 

[NEEJ]

Is there anyone else who isn't really feeling it in regards to their support towards England in this upcoming World Cup?

 

I'm seeing all sorts on my Twitter and Facebook about how this squad is a group of "likeable" players who we should all rally behind and that to do so otherwise is being unnecessarily pessimistic and idiotic. I can understand the need for togetherness and "unconditional" support to help see the team through but there's still a few players in that squad who I really (maybe irrationally) detest and to bring myself to celebrate a success to those particular players would be a somewhat hard thing to do. My passion for the England team has really dwindled over the last 6 years or so and that's probably down to the constant disappointment during that time (in tandem with enduring us in that time as well). Who knows, maybe I'll put my fairweather hat on and get hyped when I watch that first England game but at the moment, there's nothing there

 

 

I think you're far from alone in holding that viewpoint. I'd wager most fans who don't have a representative from their team will be in the same boat.

 

I'm really looking forward to the World Cup but haven't been able to get behind England properly for a while now.

[toon25]

Find it very hard to get behind the England team most of the time. Not made any easier by the number of bellends in the team. Sterling, Cahill, Walker and Alli to name a few. Am sure that England team in 1996 pretty much has universal approval. Absolutely loved that side.

 

I’ve also only realised recently what an utterly punchable face Delle Alli has. He looks like he’s taking the piss.

[Twinport53]

[Ketsbaia]

Haven't supported England for years, since 2002. I don't actively despise them anymore though - seem like a good bunch of lads.

 

Such a good set coming through too, it could get exciting. And by exciting, I mean the occasional knockout win.

[Guest Howaythetoon]

If I was more interested in football as a whole these days I’d probably get behind the England team because there are no superstars and we are kind of underdogs nowadays even in our own country or perceived as such. I don’t rate Southgate at all really, but can see why the FA went with him and I like him so if he does well I’d be pleased. He’s doing a decent job overall.

 

Obviously if England did well and were to win it I’d celebrate it, but not passionately so and it wouldn’t bother me if we stink up the tournament or go out unless we go out undeservedly or go out after a heroic and worthy performance like against Argentina in 98.

 

The 96 and 98 teams had likeable players, likeable coaches even and top players and football back then was much more enjoyable and seemed more important to players and the nation. Maybe years makes one more sentimental and forgiving...

 

The WC being in Russia too bothers me on a human level. I’ll watch some games, hope England does well enough for Southgate and some of the players I like and rate and you never know, as a father now, this being the WC with two boys who kind of like football and are now getting into it, I may indulge in it with a bit more heart or certainly interest as the heart went a long time ago thanks to a certain club of ours or rather a certain owner and former manager of ours. I used to love WC time as well!

 

Funnily enough I think this could turn out to be a great tournament and although there are obviously some very very good teams, of the admittedly little knowledge I have of the world game, I don’t think there are any stand out teams and in England they could actually be a dark horse. You never know.

 

I can see us being hard to beat and capable of beating anyone in a one off match, but we lack genuine creative class in midfield which worries me and I feel this squad and manager lack experience and grit that teams of past have had in abundace, but somehow for whatever reason just couldn’t do it on this kind of stage.

 

I think if England got to the quarters it would be an achievement, the semis would be amazing and a final would obviously be something else, beyond all expectations. To win it... it would excercise a few demons and be really good for our game here in Englandand as I touched on with the under-21s success, perhaps an indication that our academies and youth set-ups are now starting to work.

 

The quarters would probably validate that given the squad, the players at our disposal and indeed the manager.

 

I regard only Harry Kane as a genuine world-class player in our ranks though where as others have much more genuine world talent, if he has a great tournament in terms of even just goal numbers, England may surprise us all though and that’s what it will probably take.

 

Hand on heart though, I expect us to find it hard to even get out of the group stages due to that lack of creative flair we so badly lack which means we rely on defensive solidity and individuals to do what they do for their clubs which rarely manifests itself at international level at a WC.

[The College Dropout]

I haven’t seen a full England game since Iceland tbh.

[leffe186]

Here’s my thing. I grew up in Palmers Green, North London, and my Dad supported Spurs, so I support Spurs. I grew up in England, and my Dad is English, so I support England. I might have hated many things about England over the years, but I always want them to win every game, even if Carlton fucking Palmer is playing center-mid or that terrible Bolton forward whose name escapes me is up front, or that utter cunt Terry is at the back.

 

I have fallen out of love with football in so many ways, and FIFA are evil, but fuck it. Arrivederci, it’s one on one.

[Rebellious]

Here’s my thing. I grew up in Palmers Green, North London, and my Dad supported Spurs, so I support Spurs. I grew up in England, and my Dad is English, so I support England. I might have hated many things about England over the years, but I always want them to win every game, even if Carlton fucking Palmer is playing center-mid or that terrible Bolton forward whose name escapes me is up front, or that utter cunt Terry is at the back.

 

I have fallen out of love with football in so many ways, and FIFA are evil, but fuck it. Arrivederci, it’s one on one.

 

I lived above the shops in Palmers green for 2 years, 96-98 above or just over from an Italian restaurant. 

[Hanshithispantz]

As soon as the World Cup and the Euros come around I turn into a full on superfan - most people do, it's a great couple of weeks. Friendlies and qualifiers are boring and I get annoyed when they fuck the Premiership schedule up.

[Guest]

[Hanshithispantz]

There's a fourth option.

[Guest]

There's a fourth option.

 

Was actually expecting this to be a Butt like moment, honestly can't remember that. Not even a yellow.

[The College Dropout]

There's a fourth option.

 

Was actually expecting this to be a Butt like moment, honestly can't remember that. Not even a yellow.

 

Aye. Pretty funny. I assume the Tunisians didn't even make a big fuss trying to get him sent off or booking. "Flykicked in the face but it was an honest attempt".

 

That's a straight red now.

 

Makes me wonder how many goals and achievements the likes of Maradona would rack up now. He must've been kicked up and down Italy week-in-week-out.

 

Also puts into perspective some of the shite PFM's in the media come out with. These are people that were professionals in the game when stuff like this wasn't even a yellow. Then you're asked to make comments about Mesut fucking Ozil.

[leffe186]

There's a fourth option.

 

Was actually expecting this to be a Butt like moment, honestly can't remember that. Not even a yellow.

 

Aye. Pretty funny. I assume the Tunisians didn't even make a big fuss trying to get him sent off or booking. "Flykicked in the face but it was an honest attempt".

 

That's a straight red now.

 

Makes me wonder how many goals and achievements the likes of Maradona would rack up now. He must've been kicked up and down Italy week-in-week-out.

 

Also puts into perspective some of the shite PFM's in the media come out with. These are people that were professionals in the game when stuff like this wasn't even a yellow. Then you're asked to make comments about Mesut fucking Ozil.

 

I have often wondered how good Ossie Ardiles would have been in today's game. He would routinely get kicked all round the park by everybody - I will always remember Gerry Gow kicking him up in the air in the opening seconds of the Cup Final, with a tackle that would be a routine red card nowadays. Likewise, some of the treatment Pele got was ludicrous in today's context. I reckon Ardiles would have been comfortably better than Modric, for example.

 

[Sifu]

Is there anyone else who isn't really feeling it in regards to their support towards England in this upcoming World Cup?

 

I'm seeing all sorts on my Twitter and Facebook about how this squad is a group of "likeable" players who we should all rally behind and that to do so otherwise is being unnecessarily pessimistic and idiotic. I can understand the need for togetherness and "unconditional" support to help see the team through but there's still a few players in that squad who I really (maybe irrationally) detest and to bring myself to celebrate a success to those particular players would be a somewhat hard thing to do. My passion for the England team has really dwindled over the last 6 years or so and that's probably down to the constant disappointment during that time (in tandem with enduring us in that time as well). Who knows, maybe I'll put my fairweather hat on and get hyped when I watch that first England game but at the moment, there's nothing there

 

 

I think you're far from alone in holding that viewpoint. I'd wager most fans who don't have a representative from their team will be in the same boat.

 

I'm really looking forward to the World Cup but haven't been able to get behind England properly for a while now.

 

Think that certainly is a factor; had Shelvey and Lascelles made the squad, I guess I would have shown a bit more interest in the England team than I have done in the last few weeks.

 

I, too, am looking forward to the World Cup so guess it'll just be a matter of enjoying the actual tournament rather than fretting over my support for England (I'll probably have a few pints when they're on to up my interest a bit).

[toon25]

There's a fourth option.

 

:lol: exactly what I was thinking!

[54]

https://www.football365.com/news/gareth-southgate-is-a-thoroughly-modern-manager

 

With much of the modern world of football media being so brash, so block capital letters, so often crude and simplistic, it can be hard for a manager to be impressive by being thoughtful, nuanced and well-reasoned. All too often this is portrayed as weakness, or as being aloof, or as being too intellectual for ‘the lads’ to get behind.

 

Similarly, if you seem to be a decent, well-mannered person, that can be used as a criticism because you’re ‘too nice’ to be a winner, you see.

 

We saw this with Sven-Goran Eriksson, who achieved more in three tournaments than anyone has since. Not jumping up and down like a hyperactive gibbon, not screaming and shouting and behaving like a man who has drunk five pints of wine, eventually counted against him. The idiot press painted him as passionless and a man who didn’t ‘get’ England, when in reality, this was a man who was inclined to be “celebrating life, Kaiser, celebrating life”.

 

So it was when Gareth Southgate took over after the FA dragged Sam Allardyce away from his trough of baked beans garnished with a dead dog.

 

As a quiet, thoughtful and intelligent man, not prone to grandstanding and without a stellar managerial CV, Gareth was always going to be easy meat for anyone in the press who wanted to walk down the usual cliched routes. ‘Uninspiring’ , ‘not a leader’, ‘tactically unproven’ , ‘half-hearted’ , ‘distant’ , ‘desperate’, ‘quiet’ and ‘weak’ were just some of the words used to describe his appointment. Some doubted he even wanted the job at all (that was us – Ed)

 

But of course, what the guff-spouters and serial doubters didn’t realise was that times have changed and you don’t get respect from or inspire modern footballers by shouting in their face until their eyes bleed from the sheer volume of your sonic attack. Look at all the top managers, the vast majority of them are as much psychotherapists as they are tacticians. The days of the alpha male just telling players to ‘run around a bit’ are gone. The best managers are thinkers, not shouters and pointers.

 

“We’re asking them to open up quite a bit on their own feelings about things,” Southgate said, and in doing so gave ammunition to the old guard who think such talk is for the wet and the weak. But slowly and surely, Gareth has won over those cynics who were trapped in out-moded thinking and in the most satisfying of ways too: by simply being himself.

 

In recent weeks, the manner in which he handled the witch hunt against Raheem Sterling was exemplary; he not only defended the player, but vaunted his character, when it was precisely Sterling’s character which was being called into question. He was so erudite, so firm and authoritative in his words that it made all those shouting headlines seem so very dumb, crude and out of touch.

 

“Raheem is a very strong character. He is focused on his football. I’ve had a good, deep conversation with him just to see how we was with everything.

 

“He knows he’s got our support. He understands how some people have perceived the tattoo. In my view a tattoo is like any work of art – it is a very individual meaning, the intent is all with the individual and person.

 

“What has been clear from his own statement and his own experience is that he is not somebody that supports, or wants to promote, guns in the way that was perceived at first.”

 

Brilliant. A win for clever, thoughtful and correct.

 

At times Southgate does feel like a well-respected teacher who is just modern enough to understand the kids, but old and experienced enough to assert authority. The sort you want to like you, the sort you don’t want to let down. Listen to how he talks about the possibility of racial abuse in Russia.

 

“We’ve discussed the possible situation over racism, which was certainly an important connection between the team. It’s not a comfortable space for us to be at times but it helps to build a togetherness. You get a closer connection.”

 

This is a new way for an England manager to talk and behave. Feelings? Emotions? Togetherness? The best teachers were always the ones you wanted to impress and please, not the ones who you were scared of. And surely England have had a gut full of being scared. Scared of press, of managers, of the public.

 

And how about this for a lovely sentiment for football and for life?

 

“We’ve spoken at length this week about how we’re really proud to represent everybody but really the guy next to you is the most important one going into this tournament. You’ve got to be there for him, you’ve got to support him, you’ve got to be available when he needs to pass the ball to you and you’ve got to be covering his back if he slips or makes a mistake and that’s what we want to engender.”

 

I don’t think i’ve ever heard an England manager use the word engender! I’m sure I’m not alone in feeling pride in having an England manager who is smart, erudite, who doesn’t talk in cliches, has a gentle side but is firm-minded and who has clearly put a lot of thought into a management strategy based on understanding the psyche of the modern footballer.

 

He’s played the press almost flawlessly. Time and again they have tried to catch him out so they can blow something up into a big story, but time and again he’s spotted it a mile off and body swerved it. When they asked him if England could win the World Cup, knowing that answering yes or no is a big, albeit predictable, story for them to write, he responded by smartly stating where England were in the rankings, what our history was and rhetorically asked what did that tell us about our chances? He’s been careful to say that winning it would be tough, we’re not in the strongest position to do so, but that football can be a mercurial game full of twists and turns, so you never know. That is the only reasonable position to take and it is so reasonable that no-one has been able to gainsay it. He’s poured alkaline on the press acid.

 

He’s also cleverly painted the squad’s youth as an advantage and in doing so he’s not just trotting out meaningless platitudes about ‘world-class players’ or any of the usual nonsense. He’s praising, not just their skill, but their young and open minds.

 

“That’s allowing us to create an environment where they’re actually having a go at things we’re asking them to do,” he said. “Sometimes I think: ‘They’re never going to go for this.’ They’re at times painstakingly putting up with some of the things I throw their way so, that I think, would be more difficult with older players.”

 

What is so lovely is that this is all said and done without the merest whiff of overbearing ego or arrogance. It is an absolute pleasure to witness. The best leaders are enablers, not dictators. They put their charges in a position of wanting to embrace and take on the challenge ahead, not hide from it. They remove fear and install self-belief and faith.

 

“My job is to allow people to dream. Make the impossible seem possible…they are at an age and have hunger, enthusiasm and no little quality so they can certainly keep improving. We have got to improve to reach the latter stages of a tournament and that is going to take a lot of work over the next few weeks and a huge commitment. But I am seeing evidence that they’re embracing that challenge.”

 

Gareth Southgate has certainly allowed us to dream a dream where England look look a modern side, play well and give us all some great entertainment. And that is already a really huge achievement for a man who so many totally underestimated.

[Incognito]

There's a fourth option.

 

Was actually expecting this to be a Butt like moment, honestly can't remember that. Not even a yellow.

 

Aye. Pretty funny. I assume the Tunisians didn't even make a big fuss trying to get him sent off or booking. "Flykicked in the face but it was an honest attempt".

 

That's a straight red now.

 

Makes me wonder how many goals and achievements the likes of Maradona would rack up now. He must've been kicked up and down Italy week-in-week-out.

 

Also puts into perspective some of the shite PFM's in the media come out with. These are people that were professionals in the game when stuff like this wasn't even a yellow. Then you're asked to make comments about Mesut fucking Ozil.

 

I have often wondered how good Ossie Ardiles would have been in today's game. He would routinely get kicked all round the park by everybody - I will always remember Gerry Gow kicking him up in the air in the opening seconds of the Cup Final, with a tackle that would be a routine red card nowadays. Likewise, some of the treatment Pele got was ludicrous in today's context. I reckon Ardiles would have been comfortably better than Modric, for example.

 

 

Cracking player Ossie.  Did all of the little things as well as his own game that allowed Hoddle to flourish.  Loved his goal at Old Trafford in that famous Cup replay when Joe Jordan did Aleksic and Hoddle went in goal

[Mattoon]

https://www.football365.com/news/gareth-southgate-is-a-thoroughly-modern-manager

 

With much of the modern world of football media being so brash, so block capital letters, so often crude and simplistic, it can be hard for a manager to be impressive by being thoughtful, nuanced and well-reasoned. All too often this is portrayed as weakness, or as being aloof, or as being too intellectual for ‘the lads’ to get behind.

 

Similarly, if you seem to be a decent, well-mannered person, that can be used as a criticism because you’re ‘too nice’ to be a winner, you see.

 

We saw this with Sven-Goran Eriksson, who achieved more in three tournaments than anyone has since. Not jumping up and down like a hyperactive gibbon, not screaming and shouting and behaving like a man who has drunk five pints of wine, eventually counted against him. The idiot press painted him as passionless and a man who didn’t ‘get’ England, when in reality, this was a man who was inclined to be “celebrating life, Kaiser, celebrating life”.

 

So it was when Gareth Southgate took over after the FA dragged Sam Allardyce away from his trough of baked beans garnished with a dead dog.

 

As a quiet, thoughtful and intelligent man, not prone to grandstanding and without a stellar managerial CV, Gareth was always going to be easy meat for anyone in the press who wanted to walk down the usual cliched routes. ‘Uninspiring’ , ‘not a leader’, ‘tactically unproven’ , ‘half-hearted’ , ‘distant’ , ‘desperate’, ‘quiet’ and ‘weak’ were just some of the words used to describe his appointment. Some doubted he even wanted the job at all (that was us – Ed)

 

But of course, what the guff-spouters and serial doubters didn’t realise was that times have changed and you don’t get respect from or inspire modern footballers by shouting in their face until their eyes bleed from the sheer volume of your sonic attack. Look at all the top managers, the vast majority of them are as much psychotherapists as they are tacticians. The days of the alpha male just telling players to ‘run around a bit’ are gone. The best managers are thinkers, not shouters and pointers.

 

“We’re asking them to open up quite a bit on their own feelings about things,” Southgate said, and in doing so gave ammunition to the old guard who think such talk is for the wet and the weak. But slowly and surely, Gareth has won over those cynics who were trapped in out-moded thinking and in the most satisfying of ways too: by simply being himself.

 

In recent weeks, the manner in which he handled the witch hunt against Raheem Sterling was exemplary; he not only defended the player, but vaunted his character, when it was precisely Sterling’s character which was being called into question. He was so erudite, so firm and authoritative in his words that it made all those shouting headlines seem so very dumb, crude and out of touch.

 

“Raheem is a very strong character. He is focused on his football. I’ve had a good, deep conversation with him just to see how we was with everything.

 

“He knows he’s got our support. He understands how some people have perceived the tattoo. In my view a tattoo is like any work of art – it is a very individual meaning, the intent is all with the individual and person.

 

“What has been clear from his own statement and his own experience is that he is not somebody that supports, or wants to promote, guns in the way that was perceived at first.”

 

Brilliant. A win for clever, thoughtful and correct.

 

At times Southgate does feel like a well-respected teacher who is just modern enough to understand the kids, but old and experienced enough to assert authority. The sort you want to like you, the sort you don’t want to let down. Listen to how he talks about the possibility of racial abuse in Russia.

 

“We’ve discussed the possible situation over racism, which was certainly an important connection between the team. It’s not a comfortable space for us to be at times but it helps to build a togetherness. You get a closer connection.”

 

This is a new way for an England manager to talk and behave. Feelings? Emotions? Togetherness? The best teachers were always the ones you wanted to impress and please, not the ones who you were scared of. And surely England have had a gut full of being scared. Scared of press, of managers, of the public.

 

And how about this for a lovely sentiment for football and for life?

 

“We’ve spoken at length this week about how we’re really proud to represent everybody but really the guy next to you is the most important one going into this tournament. You’ve got to be there for him, you’ve got to support him, you’ve got to be available when he needs to pass the ball to you and you’ve got to be covering his back if he slips or makes a mistake and that’s what we want to engender.”

 

I don’t think i’ve ever heard an England manager use the word engender! I’m sure I’m not alone in feeling pride in having an England manager who is smart, erudite, who doesn’t talk in cliches, has a gentle side but is firm-minded and who has clearly put a lot of thought into a management strategy based on understanding the psyche of the modern footballer.

 

He’s played the press almost flawlessly. Time and again they have tried to catch him out so they can blow something up into a big story, but time and again he’s spotted it a mile off and body swerved it. When they asked him if England could win the World Cup, knowing that answering yes or no is a big, albeit predictable, story for them to write, he responded by smartly stating where England were in the rankings, what our history was and rhetorically asked what did that tell us about our chances? He’s been careful to say that winning it would be tough, we’re not in the strongest position to do so, but that football can be a mercurial game full of twists and turns, so you never know. That is the only reasonable position to take and it is so reasonable that no-one has been able to gainsay it. He’s poured alkaline on the press acid.

 

He’s also cleverly painted the squad’s youth as an advantage and in doing so he’s not just trotting out meaningless platitudes about ‘world-class players’ or any of the usual nonsense. He’s praising, not just their skill, but their young and open minds.

 

“That’s allowing us to create an environment where they’re actually having a go at things we’re asking them to do,” he said. “Sometimes I think: ‘They’re never going to go for this.’ They’re at times painstakingly putting up with some of the things I throw their way so, that I think, would be more difficult with older players.”

 

What is so lovely is that this is all said and done without the merest whiff of overbearing ego or arrogance. It is an absolute pleasure to witness. The best leaders are enablers, not dictators. They put their charges in a position of wanting to embrace and take on the challenge ahead, not hide from it. They remove fear and install self-belief and faith.

 

“My job is to allow people to dream. Make the impossible seem possible…they are at an age and have hunger, enthusiasm and no little quality so they can certainly keep improving. We have got to improve to reach the latter stages of a tournament and that is going to take a lot of work over the next few weeks and a huge commitment. But I am seeing evidence that they’re embracing that challenge.”

 

Gareth Southgate has certainly allowed us to dream a dream where England look look a modern side, play well and give us all some great entertainment. And that is already a really huge achievement for a man who so many totally underestimated.

Good piece that, I think people are underestimating this England team, under Southgate they seem so much more drilled and much more of a team than they have been in previous tournaments.

[Kanj]

Just wish Shelvey and Lascelles made it, and I'd be fucking pumped about pseudo-supporting England during the cup, but hopefully England do well, pulling for the three lions.

[Fedyan]

Kane and Southgate have been presented with a samovar and a karavai. Samovar is that magnificent monster teapot thing we stopped using about 100 years ago to keep the tea hot and pour it all night long during those long, usually family related chit chats. Karavai is basically a huge loaf of bread baked in a fancy artistic way. When people say "vstrerim khlebob I solyu" it translates as we will greet you with bread and salt, a welcoming gesture. Like when some rich relative shows up at your wedding and you want to leave a good impression before you inevitably end up totally plastered. Or when a bunch of forrins from England and other such exotic places come with a formal visit. Usually done in politics and business for someone important. Like some dude whose money you could really use. Or parents of that really fit bird you desperately wanted to shag and now ended up marrying, as I said before.

 

So. Optimistic? Pessimistic? Still confuse every Vladislav in the land by using a short name Vlad when talking about our glorious leader? Vova or Volodya are short names for Vladimir in case any media types read this. Stop being daft :lol:Vovan if you are really informal. Vlad or Slava are short names for Valdislav. So there.

 

Who is in goal? Why are your boys so bad at taking a pecky?

[Disco]