Dr. Gonzo

Tbf I think Pogba's one of the few people at United that consistently creates chances for them. I don't think he's a bad player. I just don't think he was worth what was paid for him, where you'd expect the player to be the sort to grab a match by the scruff of the neck. I understand why there's a lot of frustration with him among Manchester United fans. When you sign a player at that price, there's a sort of silent promise that you're getting someone world class. I don't think it was a decision that was made with a lot of research on what the impact for United on the pitch will mean - I think it was "let's sign this kid back, he's tearing Italy apart right now" without really considering the massive differences between United's midfield and Juventus's. They've got the ambition of a top side. But they don't have the vision or plan to get back to where they want to go. They need to sack Woodward (or limit him to just developing the club commercially) and get a Director of Football and actually start working towards a plan. If you put Pogba in a better midfield, he suddenly becomes a much better player - he's just not the sort of player that'll raise a team's level on his own. But to be fair to him, I think there are very few players like that in the world.

Yeah - I mean I've always liked the Gears campaigns and story... but the real value in the games is in the multiplayer. I'll have to check out Control at some point. Right now I'm very very tempted to get Borderlands 3... but I also don't really know if I should. Especially as The Outer Worlds is coming out on October 25... and that looks right up my alley.

Santa Ana winds (I don't really know what those are tbh, but the local news weather people keep talking about it) are making wildfire risks here in San Diego pretty high. There've been a few fires as of yesterday around Southern California recently, but they're mostly around LA it seems. There was one last night that tore through a trailer park and burned about 500 acres - pretty shit for those people.

USAToday - the official newspaper of people traveling on business in the United States - is covering it.

Iran saying the tanker was struck by 2 missiles.

The thing is... there's always been stupid people. And even stupid people are capable of learning things and then becoming less stupid. In fact, I could make a pretty decent argument (imo) that everyone (on the planet) is pretty fucking stupid in their own way (or ways). We live in a strange time though. With the internet there's more information at our fingertips than ever before - but it still feels like the world is still so very stupid. And in many regards, it seems like people are getting more stupid rather than less stupid. I think the internet's ability to provide for greater information has been dangerously hijacked and it's now used by loads of people to spread misinformation. People have been preying on the gullible for as long as people have had the spare time to come up with devious plots to separate fools from their money. And now they're not just going after actual money, they're going for political capital as well. Because with that political capital they can get more money. I don't really know what the solution is to this though, when you've got evidence of blatant lies being told to voters and various other campaign finance violations... that get no effective punishment whatsoever... there's no reason to assume that any protections will be put in place to hold people accountable for the shite they do when they campaign.

Henderson's job isn't to be a creator though? His job is to do the legwork for our creators. They're different styles of midfielders - Henderson's been used for us most recently as a box to box midfielder, and before that a holding midfielder. The way our side's set up, Henderson's got a vital role for us - we're not asking for him to be a playmaker. We're asking for him to work hard for 90 minutes in the engine-room of our side. It's not really an apt comparison. But if you wanted to compare our midfields, you could ask why one side's got a system with some pretty clear cut and defined roles for all central midfielders we have out on the pitch - and why that group of hardworking and well drilled players is so effective... and then you could ask why one side doesn't really appear to have a plan for it's midfield and keeps hoping it's most creative midfielder will just be able to bail them out on individual talent? I've said it pretty consistently since he's joined Man Utd, I don't think Pogba's a bad player - I think he's just in a situation where he's not in a midfield that's built for his skillset. And tbh there are times where he looks frustrated as fuck that he's the only one creating chances and the movement in front of him is just too poor for him to create anything really meaningful to break a deadlock. For United to get the most out of Pogba, they've got to actually build a midfield that makes use of what Pogba's good at. That's what we've done at Liverpool, we've got a creative front 3, we've got some very creative fullbacks, so our midfield really just acts as the engine room to allow our creators to... create. United have a very good midfielder in Pogba, but there's no cohesive system in the midfield that's set up to get the most out of him. It's really something that's plagued United since Ferguson left - throughout the side there's just a lack of cohesion and identity on the pitch. And ultimately, that's the first thing that needs to be addressed for United to make meaningful progress towards their goals. Cos at the end of the day, football's a team sport. Every once in a while you'll get a generational talent that'll be a part of your side that can carry even a very shit side to push well above it's weight - and while I think Pogba's very good, his time with United - where he doesn't have the wealth of talent working with him like he does with France and like he did with Juve - underscore that Pogba's not the type of midfielder that'll grab a match by the scruff of it's neck and get United the 3 points. If he were... well United would've had a different season last season and they'd not be in the bottom half right now. So the issue at Manchester United shouldn't be signing big name players to get the most out of Pogba - it should be signing the right players that fit the long term vision of the team, that'll also add into getting the most out of Pogba. But with Ed Woodward making decisions... I'm not sure how much cohesion and identity you'll have. That man is probably most responsible for the erosion of the cohesion and identity that Ferguson left you lot.

Please tell me this means you'll have Fred starting against us. Fred may genuinely be one of the worst football players I've ever seen. And I've seen Salif Diao play.

Yeah I don't blame you or anything, you're obviously not a bigot. It's something I was made aware of a few years ago while I drunkenly called someone a Mongoloid and one of my classmates at the time was of Mongolian descent and he let me know exactly why I shouldn't use that word - so it happens, I don't think most people are aware it's mocking both people with down syndrome & Mongolians. I honestly had no idea (even though... the Mongol part is in the fucking name lol), I doubt you did either.

Technically we shouldn't be using the term Mongoloid - if we're not meant to be using the word r*tard, we probably shouldn't be using a synonym for that word on these forums. It's also got some racial overtures, because it's implying that Mongolians look like people with down syndrome. He looks like a dumb, fat, bald, cunt to me, though. And I'm sure he's just as stupid as he looks, if not moreso.

Activision-Blizzard is (rightly) getting a ton of flak for the censorship and ban of a HK Hearthstone player.

Yeah I like them - it's not the heaviest in the world, but they're clearly not going for that. It's like a cool fusion of alt-rock and death metal; so it's heavier than most but it's also got moments where "normal people" (lol) can appreciate the music as well. Apparently they're blowing the fuck up right now, so that's good for them. They're clearly a unique band with a unique sound, it's always good when bands like that get some recognition - it's good for the scene generally. I'll probably catch them the next time they come around to Brick By Bric

Here's some old school death metal by my favourite death metal band that isn't Death... Obituary! This is the title track off their very first record - it's fantastic live:

Meant to respond to this on Tuesday, but I guess I forgot to. My first introduction to them was actually a few weeks back, my friend had just seen them live (because he goes to almost every show at this local venue here, Brick By Brick, - which is 99% a metal only venue) and he said they were great and surprised him. So I gave it a listen and my reaction was pretty much exactly what you described.

Nice one, pretty much sums up why every Evertonian I know seems to hate the 4231 (which tbh is a formation I've always liked, thanks to Rafa... and back when I used to play FM ). Gomes has been injured lately hasn't he? I imagine that's a pretty big loss for you as (imo) Gueye and Gomes were two of your more important players last season - and maybe the midfield will start looking a lot less shite once he's back in though. Pretty much every Evertonian I know also thinks Gueye's missed pretty spectacularly this season. And my cousins talk about him like he was the glue holding the Everton midfield together (although I remember Gomes playing really fucking well against us too tbh) - they're all gutted he's gone. But if Gomes has missed most of the season with injury and you've also lost a player fans think was the "glue" for your midfield... that's two really really important players for you that haven't taken to the pitch because of either injury or not being in the squad anymore. That's going to require the people left over to have to fill the fuck in for those big absences. Maybe we'll see Everton's midfield look a lot better when you're only needing a squad member to learn to replace Gueye and.. not both Gueye and Gomes? I mean if you consider these big changes/absences at central midfield, which a lot of managers believe is the MOST important part of the pitch... doesn't that make Everton's struggles this season a bit more understandable? Granted, yeah if the old system isn't working with the current players... you'd hope your manager would be flexible and tweak the system until he finds something he did work. Tactical inflexibility and being too stubborn in the face of obvious areas that need adjustment... which I think both Brendan Rodgers & Roberto Martinez demonstrated at the end of their tenures with their respective Merseyside clubs... those are the most unforgiveable traits in a manager imo.

If I recall, Sigurdsson plays deeper for Iceland than he does at Everton. And I'm pretty sure he's put in some big performances from them playing in that role... so I'd be confident that he is able to play a 433. With the 4231, do you feel as though you're playing just too conservatively too frequently? With at deeper lying 2 in the midfield, do they just sit back very deep - or is one of the midfielders playing as a box to box midfielder, one is the set deep lying midfielder, and then I'm assuming it's Sigurdsson as that attacking central midfielder in the 3 behind the 1. Are you just giving up a load of space in the midfield? When you played us last season, I'm not really sure how you lined up at all in either match... but I feel like it was around a 4231. But you fought very hard in the midfield in those matches. Is the system failing because of how important Gueye was? Re: that banner... just because I think it's a bit weird that there's a banner for your Director of Football... doesn't mean I think there's anything necessarily wrong with it. Like I said, I have no idea how good or bad of a job Brands as done. And tbh, I'm inclined to take your word for how he's done and leave it at that. I'm not really fussed if they've made a banner for him, there's worse things in the world football fans could do.

Here let's make this a bit more something @RandoEFC would want to talk about, rather than us forcing him to defend positions of other people and feel like we're just picking on him for being an Everton fan - because that's shit and I don't want him to feel like I'm a collosal dickhead (well at least not all of the time). So I've got a few of my family out here with me right now, including my Evertonian relatives, so there's been a whole lot of football discussion all week long since about Thursday last week. And one thing that they keep saying is, "Silva's reminding me of Roberto Martinez" - in that he's been stubborn about issues at Everton that clearly need addressing, but he wants to stick to his preferred system. The examples they gave were... the formation (they all really seem to hate 4231 formations), the set piece defending (strict zonal marking, no mix of man marking with the zonal marking), late substitutions that seem to do nothing (or make the side start looking more shit). None of these are my positions... but I wanted to ask our resident Evertonian: do you agree with these criticisms of Silva? Just for the record, none of my blueshite supporting family actually want Silva sacked. They just want to see him improve and be the manager they thought he was at the end of last season - and they all believe he's capable of improving over the course of the season. But they definitely have a number of criticisms they've leveled at him. And I just want to know if you agree with them - because generally speaking, you and I agree on a number of things (as long as it's not LFC/EFC related).

I mean... it's a bit of a touchy response for defending a position that you have even said... isn't one you necessarily even hold, because as you said "have those debates with them, not with me." I just thought it was a completely out of character from you tbh, so that's what the point in that statement was. And for the record, I wouldn't give you shit for fans going mental for winning in a cup match whether it's against us or Yeovil town. A win's a win, you can only beat what's in front of you in a cup match. And I'm surprised to hear people laughing about your fans celebrating a win from LFC fans on here. But like... I see why @LFCMike thinks its weird there's a Marcel Brands banner considering his pretty short tenure. And I don't think that his comment was meant to be a slight on you, or Cannabis (where is he, btw?), or any other Evertonian on here (if there are any more) - just more he thinks it's funny you've got a banner for your sporting director. Also for the record, I don't think Evertonians always have a shite atmosphere. I just think they're too quick to start getting negative as fuck and booing everything, which probably creates a shit atmosphere for the Everton players themselves. But I've seen Goodison produce a good atmosphere, better than a shitload of other clubs in this country are capable of tbh. Try being a Liverpool fan for a day if you get irritated about the shit that's said about you, that isn't really about you

No offense, but a banner that's in the stands is probably better evidence of how more Everton fans think than what one reasonable Evertonian (you) says on a forum. I don't even think we're debating with you on this. I legit have no idea how good Brands is at his job - and Mike just said he thought it was weird how popular he is and used the banner as an example.

Eh that's a bit touchy for someone just saying "I don't understand why they like him enough to have a banner." I think in circumstances where you've got a manager under fire for what's happening on the pitch... it's understandable to question whether the Director of Football (who presumably had a hand in hiring him? - though idk how the timing of them joining the blueshites) would be questioned. But like I said, on paper it looks like he's done a good job imo. But what happens on paper doesn't really matter as much as what's happening on the pitch.

I think he's brought in good players for them. I can understand doubting Silva more than Brands. It's interesting, but if you look at Silva's career... he's never really stayed at one place for a very long time. He's managed decent win percentages at the club's he's been to, with Watford and Hull being the 2 lowest win percentages he's got (but also probably 2 of the shittest clubs he's managed in the leagues he's managed in)… but he's just never really stayed at one club for a very long time. So it's pretty difficult to say how he does as a manager over a longer period of time overseeing a bigger project. And I'm going to be honest... I haven't watched much Everton this season, but I've heard quite a few Everton fans complain about how bad they've been, and the few times I have seen Everton this season they've not really looked good. To me they look like a team of good players on paper that just doesn't have an identity on the pitch. Which is bizarre to me because I felt like last season Silva made Everton look a lot more competitive. But their form this season just really isn't great and that's why you see the pressure mounting. This Everton side shouldn't be in the relegation zone, even if we are just 8 matches into the season. It's just a bizarre situation and I don't know what to make of it. Well I do know what to make of it... because I'm not an Everton fan, I'm a Liverpool fan. I think it's funny. But if I was an Everton fan I'd be a bit pissed off and pretty confused at what the fuck has happened to all of the progress from the second half of last season.

You might be right - at least on paper you're right that Cummings just looks like a Brexit at any cost guy, compared to Rees-Mogg and Farage. But I do think that there are a hell of a lot of rich people behind the scenes that have great power over the tories that stand to make a lot of money in the chaos of a No Deal Brexit, and they won't really care about what that really means for anybody else other than themselves. So that's where my worry comes from. But everything you're saying is equally as plausible to me. It does make more sense they'd use the threat of no deal for some political posturing. But I can't see the EU offering anything other than May's deal... or a watered down version of May's deal. And maybe the only way to get a shit deal that avoids a no deal Brexit passed is to just play chicken with the MPs and use that threat of no deal Brexit. At this point, who knows what happens.

Wasn’t Ten Hag (or however you spell it) linked with Bayern Munich over the summer? I think that’s just as likely as Moyes’ coming back - not that likely.

You guys ready for the next Turkish genocide? I feel bad for the Kurds, everyone hates them in the region. So nobody will make too much noise as Turkey tries to wipe them out

I think Cummings‘ job is to get Boris to deliver a no deal, personally. A no deal Brexit is the red meat promised to the most rabid of leave supporters, and is the wet dream of the UK’s disaster capitalists.