Michael

Very sad, only 51. She was great on Top Gear and she also came across as a really lovely person. R.I.P. Sabine Schmitz

Their performances have improved immensely since he took over. It looks like he is really getting the best out of the players and they now seem to be playing close to their full potential.

Yeah, I think I will just go ahead with traveling back to the UK and biting the bullet regarding the £210 Covid test cost. I don't want to have to wait until June to travel and even then, the £210 Covid cost and quarantine might still be in place. My mum and grandmother have both taken the vaccine(the AstraZeneca one), but I don't know how my grandmother would react to me being there, she gets quite paranoid at her age. So I don't really want her to get worried or anything. If it was just my mum there, then I would definitely be staying with her for the 10 day quarantine. Yeah, so much is really unknown. I think I am better off just going back soon, rather than waiting, as there are no guarantees in regards to what the government are actually going to do.

Right, I plan to travel to the UK soon, but I have read that it might be quite expensive to travel back at the present time. I need to take a Covid test before I travel, which is fine as the Covid tests here in Ukraine aren't that expensive from what I understand. However, once I land in the UK, I will need to quarantine for 10 days and also take 2 further Covid tests during this period. Apparently these 2 Covid tests will cost me a total of £210, which I think is a bit dear to say the least. In total, it will cost me quite a lot to travel to the UK right now. I will have to pay for the Covid test in Ukraine, I will have to pay for the plane tickets, I will have to pay for 10 days in a hotel(my grandmother lives with my mum and I don't want to put either of them at risk) in England and on top of that I will have to pay £210 for the 2 extra Covid tests. So my question is, does anyone have any idea how long these requirements are likely to be mandatory for? I don't mind doing any of them, except for paying the £210 for the Covid tests, as that does sound rather expensive for only a couple of tests.

R.I.P. Ian St. John In this following clip, St John, Greaves and Donald Trump take part in the draw for the 1991/92 Rumbelows Cup(the League Cup). St. John and Greavsie had a great sense of humour and such a good rapport together. When Donald Trump met Saint and Greavsie - YouTube

Yes, unfortunately Schalke have been managed terribly. A huge club like them should not be in this predicament. They have always been in the Bundesliga since I first started watching German club football as a kid. But sadly next season they will surely be playing their football in the 2. Bundesliga. This team is devoid of the class and character of players of the past like Olaf Thon, Marc Wilmots, Kuranyi, Draxler, Raul and Goretzka. Sure they signed back Huntelaar in January, but at 37 years of age, he's past his best. Their squad needs an overhaul during the summer and it's time to sell all the dead wood at the club. The fans at Schalke deserve much better than the dross we have seen week in week out from this team this season.

Yeah, you have to really feel for Alisson. I wonder if he will be rested by Klopp in the next few games, so he can get over the loss of his father. It will all be down to Alisson of course, but that tragic news is a lot to digest. Sad, sad news.

Precision at its finest!

Bundesliga | Luka Jovic returns to Eintracht Frankfurt from Real Madrid on loan Willkommen zurück, Luka! I Jovic: "Ich bin stolz, wieder bei der Eintracht zu sein!" - YouTube Eintracht Frankfurt have re-signed former striker Luka Jovic on loan from Real Madrid for the rest of the season. I think that this is a superb deal for Frankfurt, especially if Jovic can recapture the world class form that he displayed at Frankfurt 2 years ago.

I fancy Liverpool to regain the lead in the 2nd half, they have been much the better side so far.

R.I.P. Colin Bell

Al Hilal of Saudi Arabia only last season!

It's interesting to note that Manchester United have won more Premier League matches than any other side so far this season. Being joint top of the table and level on points with Liverpool, suggests that they could perhaps have their best season in years. They've certainly had a good first half of the season, but it remains to be seen if they can keep their form up until the end of the season. But the situation looks promising for them as we enter the new year. Having said that, Liverpool are still my favourites to win the title.

AC Milan are top of the Serie A table and they are still unbeaten in the league after 14 matches. Meanwhile, Juventus, the dominant side of Serie A for the last decade are only in 6th place. AC Milan's feat so far this season has been somewhat surprising, what's also been an eye opener is that Zlatan Ibrahimovic, at 39 years of age, has arguably been AC Milan's most important player this term. His 10 league goals have gone a long way in ensuring that AC Milan top the table at this point in the season. What's also interesting to observe, is that most bookies have 2nd placed Inter Milan as favourites to win this season's Serie A title ahead of both AC Milan and Juventus.

R.I.P. Tommy Docherty

Schalke seem to be in disarray and in terrible form right now. It would be no surprise if Freiburg win against them, even if Freiburg are playing away from home. Back to your previous comments, Freiburg is indeed a beautiful and picturesque city in Southern Germany. The clubs stadium is situated next to the hills of the Black Forest, so yes, the views are great in the Schwarzwald stadium. Freiburg have traditionally always played the attractive football that they display today. Their quick short passing style and their attractive attacking combination football has always been a theme of their game. You will hardly ever see Freiburg lumping the ball upfield to a tall centre forward, unlike many other clubs at the bottom half of the Bundesliga who attempt to do so. Freiburg also have one of the smallest budgets in the Bundesliga, which makes it all the more remarkable how they have managed to spend so many years in the Bundesliga, playing in the style that they do.

It's so sad to see that we have lost another footballing legend in former England international goalkeeper Ray Clemence. R.I.P. Ray Clemence

It's apparently the biggest scoreline and victory in Eredivisie history.

Welcome aboard!

Teofimo Lopez v Vasyl Lomachenko should be a real good fight tonight, as two of the most skilled fighters in boxing go head to head in Nevada.

and for Schalke fans!

Some great news for Schalke fans! Burgstaller will be leaving Gelsenkirchen as he will be joining St.Pauli! https://www.en24.news/2020/09/guido-burgstaller-is-moving-from-schalke-to-st-pauli-on-a-free-transfer.html Glad to see that he will be joining a club that is more at his level. I wish the Austrian forward the best of luck.

What I find really odd is the timing of this announcement. Under David Wagner's management, Schalke lost 4-0 to Freiburg on the final match day of last season. That loss to Freiburg marked Schalke's record breaking 16th straight Bundesliga game without a win. Why have the Schalke board decided to give Wagner an ultimatum on the 2nd match day of the new season, when they could have sensibly sacked him at the end of last season? Lets be honest, Schalke were always going to lose heavily to Bayern on the opening game of the season, so that wouldn't have come as a shock to anyone. It's bizarre that the board have left it until now to decide to take action against Wagner. Surely the most sensible thing to have done was to say goodbye to him after the Freiburg loss and bring in a new manager. At least then the new manager would have had ample time to get to know the squad and the players better. He could also have decided on which players to sell and whom to bring in. Ozipka is a real liability in defence and god save Schalke's backline if Kabak is sold. I don't think that Everton wanted to loan Jonjoe Kenny out again. Everton were only willing to sell him for around £16.7 million(€18.2 million), an amount that Schalke couldn't afford.

The BILD has reported the following: David Wagner has been given an ultimatum in the build up to Schalke's match against Werder Bremen: if Schalke do not win, Wagner will be sacked. Jochen Schneider was also advised to contact potential replacements, such as ex-Mainz manager Sandro Schwarz. [BILD]

You make some very interesting observations. I also do not think that Werder or Schalke will get relegated and I believe that Gladbach will at the very least finish in the top 5. I think that it's important to note that both Werder and Schalke had huge injury problems last season and that clearly affected their performances. I don't read too much into Werder's loss to Hertha, as Hertha have a team of quality players. I am sure that Hertha will qualify for Europe this season. But Werder have enough quality about them to finish in mid-table, with or without Rashica(I am sure Rashica will be leaving). The same applies to Schalke if both these sides play their cards right. Sides like Mainz, Union Berlin, Arminia Bielefeld and dare I say it Augsburg, all look weaker to me than the teams that Werder or Schalke can lineup. Stuttgart had a dodgy start to the season against Freiburg and I believe their manager was a bit naive in his approach against the side from the Black Forest. However, they have some decent players in their team, so I believe that the Swabians should also just about avoid relegation this season, if Matarazzo gets his act together. Koln and Freiburg also look too strong to go down in my opinion.