Chadwell

Nah, is honestly cool to see a club make it to the bigs for the first time ever. They were also towards the top for most of the season. Paderborn however, came out of absolutely nowhere in the final leg of the season, and directly took advantage of HSV's skid.

It does, in fact, make me feel better. Every time I look at the 1. BuLi table I look to make sure they're still rooted to the bottom of it. I'm not petty

Yeah exactly, while also inducing dropped points in an away match for another promotion rival. Certainly pleased with the results of the weekend, all things considered. Looks to be an entertaining season, I just have to hope no one pulls a fucking Paderborn from last year. Uppity little shites.

Indeed, enjoyed it. Also believe I'd have taken a point before the match had it been offered.

I think about the whole office heard my gasp on the Dudziak attempt. I think the town might've heard about it had it gone in.

Absolutely right. This can be acknowledged by anyone, regardless of where you lie on the political spectrum or your personal beliefs, as it's a issue with how mainstream media itself works in the context of modern times - and both sides of mainstream media at that. It's just simple economics and a bit of psychology, as these are corporations which must see growth measured to them in viewership, and an easy way to whip up mass viewership is to convey to the public than any given situation is deteriorating. What do people do when they perceive the structures around them and the situations that influence them to be deteriorating? Why watch more news of course, because people feel compelled to pursue the defense mechanism of an illusion of safety in feeling "in the know." It's lightwork for these mass media outlets, and even very bright people lap it up. There are undeniable problems out there, and we should always strive for rectification of these and for general improvement, but I wouldn't trade living right now for any other time whatsoever. Human rights have never been better and more widely protected and advocated, the global society has become vastly more egalitarian, and poverty levels continue to recede across the planet. That's just not fun stuff for the mass media to talk about though lol, plain and simple.

But I don't WANNA wait til Monday after an international break

Lol I’ve lived in some of the most gun-happy states in the US my entire life, and I’ve literally never once feared for my life (well, aside from the time I went out on NYE in Chicago in inadequate winter attire 😳 horrendous mistake). Your media blows that whole situation waaaaay out of proportion for easy clicks (and other reasons he won’t get into here). I’m glad you had a nice trip though, Alan, and I’m glad you enjoyed our marvelously smooth roads 😁👍🏻 Anyway, I am THRILLED with this decision. Fox Matchpass is a terrible, terribly overpriced service and I can’t wait to see the backside of it. They lost the rights to the UEFA CL & EL, and their price went up?! It’s over twice as much as ESPN+ as is! With how often they love spotting HSV games during primetime TV slots (and often while I work), it’s simply the only way for me to consistently get the matches. As such, I couldn’t be more thrilled, and especially in time for a (hopeful) return to the Ersteliga 😁😗😐🙁🙏🏻

Right on man, I hope he makes you proud!

“I tell ya what lads, despite our successful orientation in recent weeks, let’s revert to putting Kittel wide left and Jatta on the right for our evening trip to the Millerntor! Let’s mix it up!”

Solid pickup IMO. Was rather stunned he didn’t work out at Hoffe as he always did well for Köln. HSV passed on him before his move to Köln and I believe that the course of history may have been different had our superiors not have been so stupid, as we’ve only just managed to establish a decent stable of wingers since some point after being relegated.

Capitalism gets a bad rap because we naturally despise the supremely rich, and it’s very seductive to listen to politicians who preach about how greedy those people are and how we should disburse some of their money. The reality however, is that no system provides class mobility like capitalism. No system rewards a more fair exchange of goods per transaction. No system rewards contribution towards advancement of a society like capitalism. So while it’s easy to give into our natural urge to resent those far wealthier than us, don’t allow that to occlude many benefits. Capitalism isn’t something to be destroyed IMO, but rather some of the alternatives which were tried multiple times in the last two centuries to spectacular failure, and were only ever used to establish a new elite class anyway which then removed the socioeconomic ladder towards them upon taking that power. Hate the greed and corporate power, but don’t hate human nature, and especially don’t hate the fair and good transactions which happen far more regularly between people simply taking advantage of a free market to pursue better lives for themselves and their families.

Totally agreed on maintaining the 50+1 rule. Although I personally am a believer in capitalism, I reason that its reach into sports needs to have some limits. The problem in England is that with complete corporate ownership, they can choose an exact demographic to target and thrive off. What was once a working man's game was aggressively pushed into the middle class once those workers grew up and made livings, arm in arm with new sponsorships. With that base that has and continues to support them with sheer ticket and shirt sales (in London in particular, where attendance at games is majority made up of middle-aged men wearing official shirts and decked out in other merch), they've then launched into America and Asia with their burgeoning middle and upper classes. There is just little to no care anymore for the traditional working class supporter. It's not even really that it's necessarily evil, it's what these clubs must do to remain competitive in an incredibly competitive and lucrative league. With the 50+1 rule, there will always be a wall preventing this takeover from entirely happening. Either every club resists, or every club yields. The clubs in England that don't charge absurd ticket sales, shirt prices, and food/drink prices will get swallowed up in the race for those fat TV checks. So while I have upmost respect for capitalism, in this space it's tread far enough IMO.

Have to also keep in mind that they might not have had a choice. He wanted out from us as well after we were relegated.

Stuttgart's squad is just stacked. I look at them and feel just as I did about Koln last season, just simply insurmountable in the long run. Will hurt to watch Mangala play for them, as I thoroughly enjoyed him with us last season. What a fabulous young player he is. HSV has had sweeping changes, and I like the look of many of our additions, but we're a few injuries away from disaster. Players such as Kittel and Fein are critical to creative forward play, and if we lose either of them I think we'll really struggle. So for now we look good and in line for promotion, but it's a little fragile IMO. The rest all suck, nur der HSV.