Dr. Gonzo

Strong Brendan Rodgers vibes from Arteta in that

That is shocking news, that's absolutely no age to go. Very sad, RIP.

Oh shit, I forgot all about that! So who the fuck would be next up? Moise Kean? Or did he get transferred away?

All my friends who support Everton absolutely fucking hate the guy, so I was basing it more off that.

Part of me wants him to have a great game and go on to having a great season, just because it'd be funny and nobody would expect it... ... and then the other part of me remembers he plays for Everton and would prefer him to be the Rondon I know and love that is hated by you lot

Crazy how much you and I are alike! Fuck, does that mean I'm older than Gandalf too?

I think the way Ronaldo's acted this summer has been very poor. If he wanted out of Man Utd, he could and should have let them know earlier. Everyone knew they were getting a new manager, he could have done the new guy and the club a favour by letting him know he wants to move on this summer before the season ended. Then his suggestion that he signs a new contract, goes on loan this season to a CL club, and returns to United once they've qualified for the CL... floated by Mendes... is just an absurd suggestion. Tie him to the club for a year longer and have him return a year older and a year's worth of wear and tear... so he gets a chance to play for United in the CL again... even though he's part of that side that failed to qualify for it this year. It's a bit appalling after returning a year ago to a lot of fanfare, to turn on the clubs, fans, and players like that acting like he's too big to help them fight to where he wants them to be. He's as responsible as any other United player for them not being a CL club this season. He fought hard for this move - he didn't have to turn down City for United - and now he's back at a club he's considered a legend and he's really pissing over his whole legacy on his return. Now they're going to be starting a new season and it's not clear whether his heart is even in it... even though he's probably going to go into the season as United's most important attacking player. It's not great to go into a season with important players not believing in their teammates or in the new manager.

Cheers @SirBalon - Da Michele is probably the first place we're going to after the train station/hotel! Knew you'd be a great person to ask!

Agree with all of that 200% - it's a step in the right direction, but really I think all of us would be liking to see some real transparency.

@SirBalon - I need your Napoli expertise mate! Got any good food recommendations? I'm not going to be there for very long, and part of the time I'm there... I'm actually going to be fucking off to see Pompei because I've always wanted to do that. But also if you've got any recommendations for how to spend the rest of the time in the city... I'd love that too. My hotel's not in the greatest location for touristy shite - but it's so close to Napoli Centrale (it might even be connected? I'm not 100% sure though )... which is probably handy for me as I'll be taking the train to and from the city. Decided to cut my Puglia exploration a bit short because I've always wanted to experience Naples for more than the few hours I'd spent already... and I've always wanted to see Pompei - so I'm pretty pleased to have this little bit of my upcoming trip in that area.

I think a lot of clubs that have international players are going to be finding this season to be absolute carnage injury wise. I don't think there's any way around it due to FIFA deciding that the best world cup host is the one that throws them the biggest bag of cash, regardless of whether it fucks up the normal football schedule. I suspect we'll see more rotating than we ever have from Klopp before, but who knows.

They've kept up Trump's trade war and are antagonising China over Taiwan?

I agree, let's get Ten Hag out and get Roberto Martinez in.

Tbf being on the same side as Ibra basically guarantees you won't win the CL. Not that he's bad, he's a literal living legend lol, he's just cursed in Europe.

@DeadLinesmanbrought me further into the light by teaching me the joy of buying knockoff kits

Yeah, comes off as pretty bad tbh. Yes, I know "innocent before guilty" but... look at what Everton did with the alleged nonce - and I'm not even sure the alleged nonce has even been charged. At very least, they should have suspended him I assume it's because they've got more money than sense and are typically surrounded by an entourage of "yes men" that basically tell them they can do whatever they want to do... as well as thousands of fans pouring adulation upon them - it's got to get into their heads a bit and they probably think they can basically get away with anything. Judging by a lot of the replies that woman's been getting on her twitter too... I think there's a ton of young men out there who think that if a woman has consented to sex once with a man, that consent is permanent and that woman is now fair game for sex whenever the bloke wants any. Disturbing view, but it seems like that's a more commonly held belief than I ever would have thought.

Which fans fall into that group of the socios who get to elect the board? What's their relationship with the people that actually end up on the board? It's worth asking because between the last board and this board... I think I'd be pretty fucking annoyed with the people electing these people. Because frankly, the last Barca board just seemed as inept as you can be. They had Messi and they spent money on Coutinho and Griezman... an absurd amount of money on them... both players who are best in the space that Messi typically occupies. Absolute waste of money. Then all the other transfers @Spike and @ScoRossjust detailed... it's just bad business where signings are made for the sake of making signings rather than having an actual plan for how to use those players to be brought in. And then we've got Laporte back in control of the club... and I think he's done enough for where we can all say "I think he's more competent than Barto" - and yet he's making these risky decisions about the future of Barcelona that I think can come back to bite a club in the arse. Giving up a percentage of TV rights for 25 years locks in a price for whoever buys it... for 25 years where the TV money in La Liga is surely bound to go up. It's almost inevitably going to be a source of financial strain for Barca in the coming 25 years... ... and it only really pans out for as long as Barca can challenge for La Liga and the CL immediately - and I don't think that's necessarily a given for Barca. It could work out... but it could also be another financial issue that another Barca board have to deal with. I don't necessarily think that's the best way to run a football club, kicking a serious problem down the road for someone else to deal with in the future... when it will no longer be your mess to clean up. And at this point... can we say that the socios won't just elect another board that'll do the same thing and kick the can down the road while mortgaging the club's future for the sake of it's present? Seems like a vicious cycle where Barca can easily end up fucking themselves over for decades.

Do you think you'll get Bastoni? His recent quotes in the Italian press seem to indicate his number one priority is staying at Inter & that Milan is his favourite place in the world. I know Inter are sort of in a position where they need sell players for their financial situation... but I'm not sure it'd be easy for them to move on a player that seems so determined to stay. I think Spurs would have to offer him a ridiculous salary in order to get him.

Imagine being so intolerable that even a journalist from the scum is so shocked that they faint while trying to ask you questions.

That's creepy

I think that's sort of his point - regardless of the "class" that these Jewish-Americans fit in, they're pretty unified in terms of what their big lobbying group (AIPAC, which tbh I think is a bit weird not all Jews are Israeli...) pushes and promotes. The only diaspora that I think shows anywhere near as much unity in the US is the Armenian diaspora... and even then, I think there's still some noticable divisions. But I also don't think it's coincidental two groups of people that faced attempts at other people trying to wipe them off the face of the planet can come together in unity more than other diasporas out there. They experienced an existential crisis for their people - that leads to a lot of common ground, regardless of whether someone is working class or upper class. Compare that with Latino diasporas, which include several different types of nationalities and cultures, or Middle Eastern diasporas - which are often tinged with political divisions from those countries and/or ethnic and racial divides... and I think it's easier to see how class divisions (and other divisions, certainly) play a part in other diaspora groups compared to Jewish Americans and Armenian Americans. And I think it sort of circles back to the very good point you made about a wealthy immigrant from India, or any country really, being lumped in with the greater group of immigrant communities in the UK or US. You and I probably know this better than anyone, we're both immigrants in a country... and we've probably got vastly different life experiences to many other immigrants to that same country we live in. Using someone's ethnicity to lump them in with a group of wider immigrant communities they may not have all that much in common with is something I definitely think is a bit of a trick to get people to say "he's one of us!" And I think if I were a part of the UK's Indian diaspora, I'd be a bit sick at Sunak using his ethnicity to lump himself in with me. How many other UK citizens of Indian descent got to cheat taxes the way his wife did? Not many, he's not one of them he hasn't really had to experience the same kinds of hardships most of them will have faced... even if I'm sure he has faced discrimination in his life in the UK purely because of his skin colour. Honestly, I don't think there are many UK politicians that I think are that relatable to most people in the UK... and I think that's a part of the problem with our political leadership.

I've tried this with my cats and they literally don't give a shit Thought I'd get some funny videos

The vocals definitely.

I don't think he's a bad player, but he doesn't strike me as a player that would look as good as he has at Sevilla if he were at Chelsea. Idk if that's rational at all or not, but that's just how I feel about him.

Cats hiss when they're trying to tell someone to fuck off because they think it sounds like a snake, which they instinctually know is dangerous. So if they hear something else hiss, especially a lizard... it's no surprise they didn't want to fuck with it. They probably thought it was some dangerous snake with legs