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@Stan @Viva la FCB @6666 @Bluewolf @Coma @nawoo @Michael Consider yourself reminded.

Starters: Chicken skewers with some form of barbecue or Asian-style marinade. Main: Lamb keema with rice and naan bread

Notts County, mate. 80 goals for, 79 against.

Richard Scudamore. Shortly after that, the greedy six threatened to break away unless they got a bigger share of the international TV revenue and the games never really been the same since.

Robertson makes such a difference to Liverpool's attacking play.

His trump card was to hit Everton with 10 points because his idea of showing the league can govern itself is just handing out harsh punishments to look big and strong. There's clearly much more to it running the league than that and even that one gambit failed because the response was universally negative. He's not a man to provide strong leadership of any sort. The fact that at least two of the "big" clubs lobbied for his appointment tells you all you need to know.

Yeah, I basically stopped reading it seriously after that. Nothing to do with adjusting rules to be more 'financially punishing' and just protecting itself more. Again. Just glad that the Premier League is being made to look more of a joke (as it has been for some time) as each year goes by.

Frankly what the Premier League have done, hand in hand with Sky, to English football with their capitalism on steroids makes it absolutely hilarious for them to be going around using the phrase "too much money" in any context whatsoever. This is a nation where the disparity between the top two leagues is so monstrous that anyone who gets relegated receives hundreds of millions in "parachute payments" just to stop them from going completely bust, a league where the only sustained "upward mobility" that any club has really achieved in the last 35 years has had to come from billionaire investment from overseas. The Premier League created the wild west and now wants the residents to live off rations. I have no sympathy whatsoever. I hope the entire organisation collapses because it's almost comical how not fit for purpose it is. There's been a lot in the news lately about clubs being criticised for voting against a deal with the EFL which would allow more money to trickle down the pyramid. Those clubs should be criticised but why the fuck are they allowed to vote on this stuff in the first place? This independent regulator can't come soon enough but it really does need to take radical action from day one.

As if a "luxury" tax will ever put a dent or send a message to clubs that have been caught of financial irregularities. Just deduct points and hit them where it hurts if found guilty. All this taxing is a waste of everyone's time.

"Concerns that top players might leave if their pay is restricted". This is 100% built just to protect the top clubs. They deducted points from Everton and Forest, realising there will now be a magnifying glass on how they handle City and potentially our situation, and to remove themselves from such contradictory, they are now going to implement this rule. Especially when they probably figure at some point all clubs will have some book cooking when investigated deep enough.

As I said in the Everton thread. If they change the rules and City end up managing to pay a luxury tax after Forest and Everton (twice in one season) have been given actual punishments then nobody can argue that the league isn't corrupt anymore.

Rotherham are gone. I fear for Plymouth, it's just not happening for them. I was certain Warnock was going there when I saw they had sacked their manager, but they have refused that option. You'd have fancied him to keep them up, not so sure now, think they'll regret not going that way and drop. Last spot for me is a toss up between Wednesday, Huddersfield and Birmingham. Always find it humourous how terrible Wednesday are but how massive they think they are. And I really don't give a jot about Huddersfield who absolutely despise us. But being honest, and I think many may agree here, if you're wanting poetuc justice, you're wanting Birmingham to drop. It'd be the perfect ending to shitting on your own doorstep. Firing a manager when you are in the playoffs to getting relegated. Fingers crossed.

First of all, I agree that £128 million is a crazy amount of money to spend, not only for Ukrainians but for any player around the world. Mudryk, in terms of natural talent, is up there with the best. The whole reason clubs are willing to spend a hell of a lot of money for raw young talents like him, is because of the potential that they see in them. I don't think Mudryk's talent is in question, it's his inconsistency that is the issue. In the toughest league in the world like the Prem, consistent performances is something that is demanded. But with Mudryk, he is a game changer in one match and then doesn't have the same affect in the next match. However, Mudryk is young and still developing and yes, 23 is still young. He has also become more consistent in recent months, which is something that is very promising. Yes, the Palmer example is an obvious one that people are going to pick up on. Palmer was bought for half the price of Mudryk as you said((47 million is still a lot, but anyway), so there was less pressure on Palmer and these comparisons are always going to be made. Palmer has been more consistent, that's true, and his decision making on the field is currently much better than Mudryk's, but in terms of natural ability, I think that Mudryk has more potential. Both top class players though in my eyes. For Sudakov, I think the idea would be the same, to invest in his potential, because similarly to Mudryk, he is an incredible talent. But yeah, the jump from the Ukrainian League to the demands and rigours of the best league in the world, is always going to be a challenge for any player who makes that move. Other Ukrainian players have also made a success of themselves in the Premier League though and in other top leagues, so I think that's what I meant might give Prem clubs additional confidence in buying the best Ukrainian players. I agree with your last point, Liverpool already have a lot of talent in the creative midfield position. There are other areas in the Liverpool team that need strengthening more. So it doesn't look likely that they will be the team to splash out on Sudakov and buy him this summer, also given the competition for his signature from other clubs as well. He has had moments of brilliance and then in other matches doesn't give as much. He is extremely talented, but yes, when you say "but not the brain", I assume you mean his decision making. His decision making is what I see as his main flaw and the fact that he doesn't work as hard as other players off the ball. There have been plenty of times he has been selfish, when the obvious best decision was to pass to a team-mate who'd have a better chance of scoring. This has happened quite a lot and I think it's the main criticism we can throw at him. The most recent example of this that I can think of was in Ukraine's recent match with Bosnia in a play-off match. Mudryk was in front of goal, with the keeper and 2 defenders in front of him, he had Yaremchuk to his right, completely unmarked and with an open goal in front of him, but instead of making the obvious pass, Mudryk decided to shoot at goal, but his shot was deflected by the defender and went out for a corner after narrowly going past the post. That chance could have made it 3-1 to Ukraine, but Mudryk decided to shoot instead of making the obvious pass, which would have no doubt lead to a goal. Another criticism I have of him, is that he doesn't close other players down nearly as much as he should, his work-rate off the ball could be better, although this seems to be slowly improving from him. I also agree that Poch has clearly helped develop his talent in recent months and Mudryk does seem to be maturing more rapidly as a player, which is a very promising sign.

Apologies, meant Man City away from home. Last 8 in the league: Only 2 wins out of 8.

Nobody has predicted yet so don't forget! @Stan @MUFC @Tommy @nudge @Whiskey @The Palace Fan @Coma @DeadLinesman @OrangeKhrush Practice starts tomorrow.

One is Australian, three Brits, one Pole, and an American-Canadian; lastly another Palestinian. This is beyond the pale, they were helping people. They were feeding the starving masses.

https://x.com/muhammadshehad2/status/1775137325636317569?s=20 This is genuinely shameless & deserves a real response from the international community. The support of the west and having the right to defend themselves as a country doesn’t give them the right to murder aid workers to discourage other NGOs from providing aid.

I don't count. Looks very nice!

It wasn't more marketable though apparently. You'd think it would have been. This article explains it to some extent, there's probably better ones out there but I'm too lazy to look harder than I have. https://www.forbes.com/sites/grantfeller/2016/05/04/what-leicester-citys-unlikely-triumph-can-teach-all-sports-brands-need-competition/ The key passages: In terms of business Leicester’s victory has, so it’s argued, breathed life back into the predictable and boring business of Premiership football. It is 21 years since any team other than Arsenal, Chelsea, Manchester City or Manchester United won the top-flight title. The narrative to each season was being written before a ball had been even kicked. When Davids have no chance against Goliaths, it gets boring. Well, now David has won and already doubts are being raised as to whether it is a positive thing. One senior economist I spoke to believes the outsider’s triumph is good for the game but bad for business and could well lead to a decline in football revenue, especially on television. “The reality,” he told me, “is that Sky viewing figures are slumping – everyone likes Leicester but no one watches them in live Premier League games. And BT (which shows live games between Europe’s top clubs) is very worried about the Champions League next year because although Leicester has qualified as a top seed it doesn’t have as broad an international following as well-known British clubs such as Manchester United.” ... Some commentators consider Leicester’s triumph to be the kind of shot in the arm motor racing’s revenues need – plucky David conquering all-powerful Goliath. The next six months will show whether that’s true or whether, as astute economists predict, brands desperate to bask in the glory of an unlikely victory suddenly realise that the paying public wants what it always had. A Goliath-controlled status quo.