Dr. Gonzo

If City don't win the title this season, Pep needs to be publicly flogged.

Trump's got one of the most notorious neo con war criminals as his national security advisor though.

They were Russians mercenaries trying to attack a US military installation. https://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/syria/2018-02-26/russias-mercenary-debacle-syria

So are we fully onboard with Russia's annexation of Crimea then? Assad's a cunt, but he's better than theocratic murderers and rapists for sure. That doesn't mean he's beyond gassing people in a civil war where chemical weapons have been used. And Russia certainly likes chemical weapons.

Can's out for the season. So we really can't afford any more injuries to our CM between him and Lallana out.

To send a message - a show of power basically as they wipe out ISIS from Syria.

The English title is really off putting to me for some reason, I don't know why. But the trailer on Netflix looks good. I'll have to get started on it sometime soon.

Fuck him/them. They think it's unfair they had their citizenship revoked because they went off to join a group of murders, torturers, and rapists that say they're at war with our society. And they've got no remorse for what they've done - there's no rehabilitating these cunts, hopefully the Kurds execute him once they get all the info they can out of him.

Not yet, the suspense is killing me.

The Kung Fu was fucking cool, also those insane vehical hijackings you can do while driving a car already. That's probably the closest any of us will come to being Bruce Lee.

I really liked that game.

I've just made an offer for a house and I'm so nervous to hear back.

You should put me on ignore then.

He's playing in a position where experience is incredibly important to having dominant and consistent performances. I think for a 21 year old CB in the top flight, he's doing a very good job and regardless of any mistakes - he's playing well beyond how I'd expect a pretty young player in a defense for a top side. Young defenders have it pretty rough at a top club, because mistakes are under a microscope - while young attacking players making mistakes don't make as many mistakes that are as costly (in terms of the likelihood of giving up a goal). I think he's going to end up a very good defender, barring any horrible injury problems throwing his career off. But with young defenders, mistakes - and sometimes costly ones - are going to happen. It's part of their development, because they need to learn from those mistakes and how to prevent them and not let the criticism and pressure from making mistakes get to them. A little patience and realism with young players, especially young defenders, is important if you actually want to see Chelsea develop players that make it into the first team. Otherwise you'll see shite like getting rid of players with promise to really kick on leave, go somewhere else and shine, and then be a reminder of what could have been.

James Pearce says we don't believe his seasons over. But we do need him against City and he won't be available for that.

I love GoT, I'll have to check it out.

I've gotten back into playing Crusader Kings 2. Fun game if you like those kind of strategy games.

People are making some quality Andy Robertson memes:

Yeah if it goes tits up, as long as there was some financial responsibility and risk calculation... which there should be in a business that size... that's okay and it does happen to clubs who are rebuilding literally every season. That's fine as long as there is an actual attempt to rebuild. And there's steps taken to have an immediate action plan if another manager has you in free fall - then the worst that happens after a failed rebuild and suffering through an awful season is you're back to having to start a new rebuild with a new manager. The biggest appointment, bigger than the manager is the DoF. So if Brand works out for you, I think you'll be in much better shape in the long run.

Yeah that letter is on the fucking money. You blueshite have been sold so many promises over the decades about ambition from your board, but never really kicked on. Granted, in recent history the best time you've had to do that on the pitch was in the Moyes era, but Kenwright would never give Everton the financial backing to challenge because the club didn't have the resources. And Leeds is a good example of why you don't go into financial ruin in the chase of glory... of it fails it could be a disaster. But now you've got investment and can splash more cash, Everton fans absolutely have a right to demand better. Especially better than this season. I've enjoyed it, because I support Liverpool, but there's absolutely no reason for Everton to have had the season they're having. And everyone but the board (who did give good financial backing) and the fans (who are just fans, once again disappointed due to their club underperforming). Walsh made huge errors over the summer and has built a very unbalanced squad, Koeman it appears signed off on it then couldn't get a cohesive looking team out and had them looking like contenders for the drop, and Fat Sam's general cowardice is just not what a club with ambition turns to (granted, they were seeking safety at that point). It's another rebuild for Everton this summer. They need a new manager and the new DoF needs to work with him to identify a long term system he wants to implement on the pitch, and they need to identify players in the short term they can work towards building to that. It's not as though Everton aren't patient. A manager that can at least get fans excited about the football on the pitch can and will be afforded setbacks in terms of results if the mentality and play on the pitch is improved. With the shit Kenwright has put you blueshite through, and the fact you've now actually got financial weight + the ridiculous prem TV money, it's definitely justifiable to demand more ambition than you've seen from your club in the last 3 decades.

I agree with you. But I don't think they'll all be massive signings or anything, I think we'll get 2-3 big money signings and then a couple of squad players with room to grow into first team players (like we did with Andy Robertson). It's also pretty important for us to get rid of Sturridge, I think. That's a lot of wages for a player that I think at the top level, is most likely done. I think it's time for a less physical league if he wants to keep playing. But assuming everybody else at the club stays, other than Sturridge and Can, here's how I'd like our summer to go. I think a CM and CB are the two biggest priorities. The rumours of Jorginho are, imo, the best possible fit for what we need in a replacement for Emre Can that I really hope they are true. He'd be a signing that fits in with the way we play perfectly and his strengths are many of our current midfielders weaknesses. And with him, Naby Keita and then 1 of our current crop of midfielders... and that's a markedly improved midfield's to this seasons on paper. De Vrij as a CB I already stated my preference for. He's just a very solid defender, who's already familiar with playing alongside Van Dijk. And if we get him, then I think whoever we sign as a GK should ultimately be signed as a competent backup (i.e., not someone totally shite as a backup, someone we wouldn't feel horrified to have to play would be nice) to Karius (who I think has looked like a totally different keeper with Van Dijk in front of him, and one that's suited for the way Klopp likes us to defend - I'd rather try to develop him further than waste money, if possible). And then for me, the biggest thing would then be improving on a backup to Bobby. Because I like Ings a lot, but I don't think we'd want to be relying on him for an extended period of time if Firmino gets injured. I'd like someone like Ben Yedder... but that's not gonna happen lol. "Excuse me, Mr. Good striker who'll probably be highly sought after.... would you like to sit on the bench for us most of the time?" It's kind of hard to predict who'd be a good striker to essentially be second choice most of the time (although I imagine they'd be thrown on more than Ings if they're substantially better). Players that are more proven generally won't want that kind of role, younger players that are on the cusp of being established can have their development through lack of time on the pitch, bringing in a veteran who'd be willing to shoulder responsibility also comes with the risk of that player being totally passed it. I actually don't think right back is a major priority though. TAA is raw, but he's still got a hell of a lot of potential. Same with Gomez. They make mistakes, but there's plenty of promise to the way they've performed this season - they've not shown themselves to be totally shite, so they deserve to still have their chances. But if Clyne looks a shadow of himself on his return, then right back might jump up the list of priorities. But if he's back to being Mr. Reliable for us, then I'm okay with the fact he's not the best going forward. He still makes the right runs and creates width, even if his crossing is dogshit - he was an underrated player for us before his injury. I hope he's the same player after the long layoff. But if nobody leaves us and we make some improvements, particularly at CM and CB... and considering that Keita is still on the way... we should be looking a lot better on paper. How a team looks on paper doesn't mean a thing, especially when it comes to guessing about new signings - but it's nice to see us actually be in a position to sign our top players and actually make tangible progress after years of stagnating/going backwards.

I agree 100%. Lovren's I think had a (marginally) better season than Matip... but he's still had some HUGE blunders that have been costly. Matip's fitness problems are pretty poor too, and I think while he had a good start to his Liverpool career each time he comes back from a spell out on the physio table... he's a bit worse each time. Maybe that's a match fitness issue or a confidence issue - but it is something I've noticed. I'd like Van Dijk to be paired with another Dutchman... Stefan de Vrij from Lazio.