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Should have posted this here rather than the other thread. This was from Zara's baptism last week and is the first photo I have of the family where all four have eyes open and looking in the right direction...

One of my work mates is Chelsea. Season ticket holder in the Shed and goes to a few aways. He was there Saturday. We had a similar discussion. I said it the other week and I'll say it again. As a neutral, for me, I find you extremely watchable again. You have that youthful, exuberance about you, exciting to watch. More of a rawness because these younger lads are gelling and being let loose. You've been too used to having players bought for the here and now to achieve short term success. There is a pressure on you to win a cup each year because of the money you have. Now your hands are tied, it's a little bit like you have a 'free' season, to give something different a go. Ok, yes there is a bit of naivety at times, but you can allow for that. What I would say is that the younger guys are taking it all in their stride. You can visibly see the belief they have given to them from Lampard and his team. Confidence will play a huge part in this team. There is no reliance on Hazard anymore and yet they are making chances from all sides of the pitch. And as you said, before Roman, you were kind of like an Everton. Up and down in the league, loved a cup run but that was it. The expectancy levels are not as high. People generally do not know what to expect from you, how you'll cope. Makes you an unknown quantity which is exciting. Feels a lot more realistic. Seeing this again will naturally be very reminiscent, it's like you have got your soul back. A weight off your shoulders almost.

I don't think the likes of @CaaC (John) & myself are what they are looking for to be honest... They want young spring chickens not people that are unlikely to make it back alive.. Last thing @nudge & @Mel81x need is a couple of old dead dudes rattling about in the back of the shuttle because we passed away through old age before completing our mission.. We are the Robert Duvall's of NASA mate.. Need an asteroid on a collision course for earth blowing up?? Need a couple of expendables to go and meet with the hostile alien life form??? send them two old fellas that keep hanging about in reception... That's us mate.. I don't have the required degrees or speak Russian so that probably messed me up a bit.. Shame it does not have 'life experience' or we would be quids in..

I am much the same. The first two Maiden albums are perfection, the perfect mixture of musical complexity, punkish aggression, trademark rhythm section, and pop-esque catchiness. NOTB I still think is overrated, though Hallowed Be Thy Name is my nomination for greatest Maiden and one of the best Heavy Metal songs ever. Piece of Mind, Powerslave and Somewhere in Time are full on metal heyday royalty just as Priest's Screaming for Vengeance and Defenders of the Faith are. After that it gets rather shit rather quickly. Like you say there are highlights (The Clansman from the Blaze Bauley era is a full-on classic), but my god listening to a modern Maiden album in one sitting is torture. Maiden, like Priest and pretty much every metal band of the 80s, were at their most lethal when they knocked you out in four minutes. Priest still do this and that's why despite members dropping like flies their albums are still fucking killer. Empire of the Clouds is undeinably a superb song, but from the same band that used to blow your mind with Aces High and Wrathchild...? Nah. Stick it on a Bruce or Steve solo album where 37 minute prog influenced adventures belong.

That has to be a NASA fail surely?? I can imagine us all coming in to dock with the alien Mothership on an unknown hostile planet and someone says to Nudge "have you locked the docking co-ordinates in" and she is all... "er.. What?? I knew I forgot something.."

The troll is high in Jr. Messi

Which one is you?

They pretty much applied the X-Wing design to a car; very clever

I still remember those wings Tyrrell used, and I think they actually raced with it.

Bingo! Nah FIA banned it in time before qualifying at Monaco

Jos Verstappen? I recognize the helmet. I don't remember that wing though Did they actually use it in the race?

Remember this monstrosity?

I agree. His 2nd against Norwich was his first ever goal outside the box. The way he took players on, I never knew he had that in his locker. Looked a tap in merchant in the championship. Confidence doing him a world of good

He also doesn't really press that well which isn't necessarily great either particularly taking into account the way Lampard likes his teams to play. Sarri did get more out of him in that regard and I did notice him adapting and doing more pressing under the Italian but still the levels of intensity weren't great. His relatively low work rate in terms of pressing was in part one of the reasons he was used up front at times under previous managers. It would be interesting to see Hazard work under Pep or Klopp for example because I think he would have to adapt his game, of course, a lot of players have to change but that would be an interesting watch Hazard working under them. Hazard's attacking threat though seriously outweighs anything else and there is no doubt we miss him. I think Hazard would have had a field day given some of the space, chances, and game situations we've faced so far this season and I have imagined more than once what damage he would have done. We move on though and I'm excited about the young players we have. As for slowing down play in the final third, like you said Hazard could get away with it. There is one player in the current squad who is even worse at it and that's Willian who of course doesn't have the high level of effective attacking output that Hazard had. The constant stopping or slowing down the ball to wait for the opposition player to dive in is Willian in a nutshell. Stand Willian up and he's fucked, to be honest.

Also we look wayyyy more less predictable. As we are a threat from more positions and from more players with that.

Looks really good, hope Figo gets one next.

Very good but he only has played 11 games for MVV, he is only 17 years old though, he was wanted be huge list of clubs.

Barcelona have signed Dutch super talent Xavier Mbuyamba from MVV Maastricht, he is a defender 6ft 5 and labelled the next Van Dijk. @The Rebel CRS @SirBalon

Australia proper blew it. Has been a good fortnight or so for Test cricket. The matches between Ind/WI and SL/NZ don't come close to that Ashes encounter, but they have been good matches. Stokes played a magical innings. And, yes, Aussies blew it, but Stokes was incredible. Bumrah's 8-3-7-5 was special, and was unsurprisingly not spoken about.

Watched Booksmart. It's this year's Game Night. Funny, smart and very entertaining. Also, unfortunately not that talked about like Game Night. This deserves lot more attention. Plus, a wonderful directorial debut by Olivia Wilde. @Tommy put this on your list, I am certain you will like this.

LMFAO

Over to you @Teso dos Bichos, I know you love @Happy Blue

Let's forget Stokes a minute, as genius as it was. The Aussies completely ballsed that up. We were incredibly lucky that they lost their heads. 1. Stokes being dropped by Harris. Not easy but he had his hand under it. It was a chance. 2. Harris again, losing his bottle by throwing to the bowler end to get Leach out, when Stokes was well out at Tim Paine's end. 3. The absolute waste of their last review. Cummins knew it was iffy, you could see that, but Paine went for the review. A sign of desperation. 4. Nathan Lyon bombing that run out. I mean you will not get many easier. Pressure got to him and he fumbled it. 5. The LBW on Stokes. The one bit of bad luck for the Aussies. It was pretty plum for me and I was shocked at the time the Umpire didn't give it. Of course, it all goes back to that waste of a review mind... Very unusual from them really not to deal with pressure but sometimes, it's just meant to be. Would never have seen the McGrath's/Warne's etc fuck that up. Mentally its great for us because really we have been second best overall in this series and we've managed to scrap to 1-1 with two to go. Need to raise our game now and press home the momentum swing.

Norwich away, home game for me. If we are going to get that level of entertainment this season, its going to live long into our memories. Very happy for Tammy who’s two goals were wonderful, only to be spoilt by the Chelsea twat sitting next too me who remarked this was his level… Championship in reference to Norwich. It wasn’t till I watched the BT coverage where Crouch and our Joe talked up Norwich that I felt a little better again about Tammy’s performance, although to be honest, I didn’t think Norwich are as safe this season as those two young pundits have you believe, so maybe there is some truth in what the Chelsea twat said. The more I think about and re-watch the game its becomes increasingly difficult to gage the performance. We were pretty and moved the ball far quicker than at anytime last season manufacturing many chances. We were also frightenly open weak through the middle defensively and probably have our weakest back four this century. Kante wasn’t missed at all. The forward five were all very good, word for Kovacic who was outstanding and completely knackered come the end of the game. Really put a shift in both defensively and carrying the ball forward. His performance was one of the few I have felt he earnt his money. I think we have a player in Pulisic. He needs time to develop his body as he is lightweight and ends up on the floor far too often, but I think we will see better of him next season. Jorginho was a complete waste of space defensively. Buendía ran away from him for the first goal, spinning away leaving him on his ass and the same Norwich player became as elusive as Maddison the week before to Jorginho, setting up the second goal. EVERYONE knows how we can improve defensively. It’s going to be interesting to see how long it takes for the penny to drop for Frank. Before during and after the game I saw and spoke to many Chelsea friends from over the distant years (as you do at away games) and the topic of conversation being, this season feels like being Chelsea before Roman. Difficult to explain to the many fans we have gained since he took over the club, but those of us who were around when we were “shit” for want of a better description, never knew how a result would turn out, saw our hopes built around a youth system, often young players injected into the first 11, maybe 1 or 2 years too soon and our fingers crossed we would escape a relegation battle. Our youngest starting 11 for 25 years playing exciting attacking football, leading pegged back not once but twice then our young CF scoring a cracking winner sending us all home (well to a watering hole) ecstatic with how the result turned out. Made this Chelsea silly old sod, “football feel” something I’ve missed for too long.

Walker is in the form of his life at the minute, probably because he has real competition for a starting place at City this seson

Just came back from Iron Maiden. Very fun stuff.

I love you SirBalon, we could have been together, think about it You ruined it now, I hope you can't sleep and you dream about it And when you dream I hope you can't sleep and you scream about it I hope your conscience eats at you and you can't breathe without me

The Kid (2019) A western about Billy the Kid with Ethan Hawke, Vincent D'Onofrio; the trailer was decent so I thought it would be enjoyable enough. Turned out to be way too slow paced and, frankly, just plain boring- and that's coming from someone who enjoys both Westerns AND slow build up normally. Meh. Waste of time. 5/10

Stop saturating my browser!