SchalkeUK

Quote: I didn't realise I'd walked into the Daily Mail comments section. Don't try and make this about money. Some areas of England have seen a 75% increase in infections in the 10-19 age group over the last week. There could/will be countless asymptomatic kids in families who will be seeing potentially vulnerable grandparents over Christmas. It just isn't worth sending them for 2-3 extra days so they can catch Covid to give to their family members as a Christmas present just so they can colour in a few Christmas trees. I know kids are entering puberty earlier these days, but 10 is still a bit young. Now sort that comment out and use Spokian Logic before discussing!

Sorry that your plans are up the lum - but keep it that way - at least then you will be able to have other plans for the future. My daughter is working the US in the Science Triangle in NC and is appalled by the way some of the locals are ignoring the advice - even though yesterday the US lost over 3000 folks in one day. We have normally had at least 3 holidays before Christmas during the year and this time - nothing - at least we are all still fit enough for our daily (?) walks and fresh air. Our 50th Wedding Ann is on hold and perhaps in March we might get a 51st - perhaps - but if not, at least we will be here not to have it. Take the hit at present - I will remind all again of my favourite Vera song - 'There'll come another day' that was for the 39-45 war - sing it for the 2020 pandemic! Take care guys and gals - stay safe Sei nett!

Looks as if I might be the first TFF member to get the call! Will let you know when it happens so we can all celebrate and - if you want - I will let you know how it goes - affects or otherwise - so you can make your own minds up. Quite happy to be the TFF test site!

What a terrible conversation with the Press DT had last night. The only thing that wasn't certain was whether or not his staff took him back to his padded room. Heaven only knows what other world leaders made of that outburst - very sad really!

Our latest 2 Austrians have not been doing very well at all and Christian has probably been one of best players from the South. It has been both annoying and great to see that he has proved the idiots upstairs at Gelsenkirchen so wrong as to how he has played in Walker Land and is only symptomatic of the long list of super guys we have practically given away over the past few years. I can get nothing but a 'wry' smile from the Anfield area when the latest 'news' is being considered, but we may be about to do it again. If you want to see why he is such a great guy just visit the little town half-way between Graz and Vienna - the folk there are great and CF is one of their local legends by now. Yes - our loss etc....

Under normal circumstances the start of this season would probably have produced 4 points - the next few game could see a difference. Baum has to concentrate on the left side of defence where it has been rubbish for a long time - even as far back as letting Fuchs go to Leicester. The desire to play continually in the wrong direction by Nastasic and Ozcpika is frustrating any efforts up front, but Stutty are a different prospect. A poor performance on Friday and the doom predictors will be right - to let Ocz rant on the 04 pages about how better they should be is farcical and totally unrealistic (for 'they' read 'I'). Baum need to assert himself as he did with the German youngsters or -yes - his tenure will be one of the shortest on record and no one will be surprised. The kids can no way be worse than these two old men on the left so let's go! Oh and one final thought - who on earth would take the job if Baum were to be dismissed?

He's due to play again today and should have an easy game - perhaps the ladies will get to see more of that 6 pack

Just watched the first of the new Spitting Images! If anyone asks why? I don't have an answer. Will not bother next week! The humour and subtlety of the original is now lost forever and it has descended lower than sixth-form humour - and that was really trash then and still is! Sorry!

Towards the end of my time in schools I went locally to Leeds, Bradford, Doncaster, Barnsley - even Sheffield and they were are considered to be somewhat 'local' - even the present England Cricket captain was a great student in Sheffield and Kempen is only 19 miles from Duss so he's as local as I would consider him to be one you would want to watch and support - that final outcome of the game was really impressive for his first time in a major and - although he might have harder games to come, he - and Duss folk - can be proud of the guy!

OK - so away from footie, how many are watching young Danny Altmaier in Paris this morning. One of Tommy' s locals and beginning to shine on the Tennis Courts at last. He's a Dusseldorf guy and I first saw him in Hamburg when he was getting started - he looked fit and good then, but injuries caused a problem for a while. His performance this morning is worth a look!

Very clear over here on Tuesday night this week and I keep an eye on the Nasa web page which shows the track and if the clouds go away it is often as you describe it. The web page is also very accurate so you don't have to sit for ages waiting for it to appear - have a look folks and you will see how accurate Stan's comments are.

The two party system has not worked for the electorate since the turn of the 20th Century not long after which the Labour (Socialist party) came into being and the Whigs (liberals) were demoted to a third party. The socialists grew due to the dominance of the Trade Unions and their 'unelected bosses' which is still a great problem for the Labour party as they keep interfering and putting off a lot of voters. The Main party at present is dominated by what are generally regarded as 'upper class twits' and have no idea of what real life outside the public school system is like. In power they make decisions and laws and get them passed by using the Parliamentary Whips to ensure their party members do not rebel (at least not too often) and then when they lose power the others simply change everything and it stays like that until they get booted out and the others come back and change it all again which is why the UK economy sometimes struggles and why we joined the Common Market and not the European Union and then voted to leave what we didn't join in the first place. Boris and Michael are in power at the moment and are the finest liars we have ever had in charge - although Donald is their best example of how to somehow complain about fake news when - in actuality - they are the ones normally making it. The answer? Most people realise that voting or not voting changes nothing and we just have to live with it and get on with our lives as best we can - presently I fail to see why Donald raves about the so-called China Plague 'cos it's the best thing that has happened for him and just might give him a chance to get in again whilst Boris bumbles on day to day not knowing what the heck he is doing and blaming it all on the scientists. I know you didn't actually ask for that, but it is the view from a position of weariness having had to live with these idiots in charge for so long - and please don't get me started about Local Government 'cos that would take weeks to even start and sort it out! Best thing to do?

Soft kitty, Warm kitty, Little ball of fur, happy kitty, sleepy kitty, purr purr purr.

Thanks for that and taking the time to spell out your thoughts - but that is exactly the problem! Whilst I amd not agreeing or disagreeing with your comments, out of the whole lot you have only considered keeping 6 - 2 of which have only just joined. The rest - or the other 5 to make up a team???? Now you know how the new guy - whoever he is - will have to sort out the mess we are in!

Returning for a third time would be welcomed by many 04 supporters, but Ralf knows the players on the register and is no idiot - returning with the present lot is going to be hard - if not disastrous - for anyone. Cannot really see who with a good CV will take the chance! Additionally who - with no CV - would want to take the chance to ruin his CV by failing on his first appointment? Most on here fancy 04 to be relegated - perhaps then, someone with credibility will consider the job, but now???? I am sure many of you have your own ideas, but seriously, which of the present 04 squad would you want to keep? Present 04 squad: Yes or No? Markus Schubert Ralf Fahrmann Matija Nastasic Salif Sane Benjamin Stambouli Timo Becker Hamza Mendyl Bastian Oczipka Omar Mascarell Sebastian Rudy Suat Serdar Nabil Bentaleb Nassim Boujellab Alessandro Schopf Amine Harit Benito Raman Steven Skrzybski Mark Uth Goncalo Paciencia Guido Burgstaller Veded Ibisevic I have excluded squad members who were born after 1-1-2000 and are still learning the job.

A lot to do with the efficiency of your local man - the missus and I had ours over two weeks ago - a simple phone call from them inviting us in the following day. Pity that we seem to be blessed with a fine set of people on our side where others are less fortunate. At least - as opposed to Virus testing - they cannot argue a shortage of jabs available.

Isn't it nice when make a somewhat silly comment and it looks as if it could turn out to be true - 3 for Kai now and can't see it stopping there!

Trying hard to follow 'Picard' but - wow - it's tough going - brilliant, but tough!

Nice to see Havertz opening his Chelsea Account and, sorry, Barnsley are not really in this one - might be a Bayern v 04 score at the end and again....

The present problems are not as bad as they might seem to younger folk. I miss being able to get to LBA and hop over to Dusseldorf for the odd match in the Veltins, but having been a kid during the 40's and the 9 years following the old National service requirements in the RAF - restrictions are something you get used to and - hopefully - live through. Going to the Ruhr so soon after the end of the war and later spending time at Scampton in 617 Sqn (Dambusters gang) made me even more determined that the present 'Black Lives Matter' campaign is only part of the problems! It gives those who don't believe it something to focus on and get even worse with their ideas and attitudes. If I were to have any say in this I would cross out the word 'Black' and replace it the 'All'. My local Asian pupils were some of the finest young people I ever met - as were the German boys like Leroy, Julien and Joel. The only reason I stay on here - never, ever use facebook or twitter - is that there is a chance to talk to others who respect not only their colleagues - but sadly not always the case these days - respect themselves - that's where it starts and long may it continue. On a lighter note I worry that Barnsley might repeat their last encounter with the Blue gang in London and the what will the Ultras have to say? Could get - hopefully - funny!

Tedesco was a disaster - Max and Leon away for nothing. Best defender we had also given away. 90 minutes of a semi-final against Frankfurt and no changes - even when they got the only goal which got them to the final and he had three internationals running up and down the side of the pitch ready to come on. That sort of leadership got him what he deserved and it was no one else's fault. Magrat giving Manuel away and Ivan packed off to Spain, Slomka refusing to talk to Mesut's dad and then sent him to Bremen in a fit of pique. At least DW is trying to communicate but some ears are closed and not listening - some of them are upstairs and not even on the pitch. History repeating itself - again! PS a quote from the paper at the time of Tedesco's last weeks: Signings such as Mark Uth, Sebastian Rudy, Omar Mascarell, Suat Serdar, Steven Skrzybski and Salif Sané have shown themselves to far from the level required to replace the departed Leon Goretzka, Max Meyer and Thilo Kehrer.

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Sounds as if the 'leaks' from upstairs are showing up again. Schneider has to take as much of the responsibility for the garbage we are seeing at the moment. DW is trying to build a Lego Castle out of wine gums. The defence is terrible - why hasn't our football director sorted out the Jonjoe situation? Why has he let Uth and Bentaleb return when we all know that they failed last year and Ozipka on the other side was never and is never a defender to rely on. Don't blame the builder when the boss gives him poor quality bricks to work with and swapping him for another untried amateur - perhaps a too hard description of Schwarz - but that's what we always do - we might as well bring Tedesco back and get ready for BL2 if that's the thinking. Sorry nudge, but let's wait until the result this weekend when we will find out which of two poor teams is the better one and take it from there!

I spent some time teaching in Germany in Gelsenkirchen and got to know many of the young players in the early 20's. Have been a fan of 04 since 1949 when I first visited the area on a Youth Exchange from Yorkshire hence my tag name! When Timo was at Stuttgart he was always a threat but German football and defenders area different from those in the PL. His time at Leipzig prospered from the fact that Poulson took most of his stick and gave him so many chances and no one in the German National team does that - hence his lack of success there! I have no problems with his abilities -they are first class, but he hides too often when the going gets tough and I fear that he is no Drogba who can take it and give it back! The few times I met him with my young friend Andy Beck he was the sort of guy you wanted to spend time with - polite, respectful and funny, buy football needs hard guys up front - not diving whimps like the little fellow at City who last night should have been carded in the first minute and then got kicked about and the ref didn't believe it once and like most other refs have had enough of hid 'cheating'. I really do wish him well, but the pressure will be on him every week and I am not sure he will cope with that! Anyway my lot have far more problems to consider at the moment someone would rescue my young ex pupil Max and get him away from Woy Hodgson! C'st La Vie. Oh and for a final comment - I can see the lights of Elland Road from my bedroom window when they are on! Take care, stay safe and sei nett!

I have watched Timo for years and said when the signing was likely that it would be a great error to put him in the PL - too nice, too soft and too often in dreamland on the pitch. You were warned!