SirBalon

These kids eat, drink and only think football. They're children at the end of the day mate! When I was a kid I dreamt about being things with the only difference being that whatever I wanted to be I wasn't living in an environment so focussed on what I wanted. Adults have the benefit of understanding and evolved reasoning where as children live in an unorthodox fantasy world.

That @ thing threw me off and I didn't even know what thread I was on. Like I said in a post above... These academies are very harsh environments for young kids even though their every need is catered for. It changes them completely and they lose their youth. The worst part is that a very very low percentage get to actually become a main feature in the ultimate side in the future. If I remember rightly, I read an article on an interview with Atlético Madrid's Saúl who was originally a Real Madrid academy kid and he had terrible stories to tell about that experience.

Agreed mate! He'd be a greedy git if he asked for money playing for Barça... He actually pays them for the privilege. There's too many greedy characters in football these days.

Academies at that level of club are always difficult places to reside in. If anyone wants to understand in full detail all of these happenings and more then they should read Andrés Iniesta's autobiography "The Artist". It tells of how he cried every day for two years, tried to run away two times and was found in a cinema in central Barcelona... The stories are endless! The pressure is massive and the responsibility felt at such a young age coming from humble families is extraordinary. We're talking institutions here, and the hope of one day being able to come out in the strip playing for the home team.

It's Britain which has the least happy children in the developed world, the highest infant mortality rate in Western Europe and some of the worst child poverty in the industrialised world. It's British elderly people who are the fourth poorest pensioners in the EU. It's Britain which has the eighth biggest gender pay gap in Europe and child care costs much higher than most European countries. I've taken that excerpt out because I've seen things in London (of all places, so imagine other parts of England) that verify this and I'm not even talking about underpaid migrants with children. I'm talking about white English people... The stats on mortality are also shocking.

What Spanish threads?

A mate I have on Facebook (obviously a Scott) wrote this a few days back... The entire Westminster establishment is all too happy to lie to Scotland just as it's lied to the people of England for so long, the English genuinely believe they subsidise this wonderful payment free life we enjoy here because that's EXACTLY what they've been told for generations. Since the birth of the Union Scotland has been a cash cow for England and they have lived really quite well off the milk of that cow, not all of England of course just the ruling classes and those fortunate enough to live in the South East and other Tory heartlands. The rest of England i.e everything north of Watford has been told that they can't have the same fabulous life as London etc because the government just can't afford it ... so those people see themselves being forced to pay for prescriptions and student tuition fees while us "subsidised Scots" don't .... hell if it was me I'd be pissed off to .... but these people aren't being told the real truth, they are being lied to just as we are about how poor and helpless Scotland is when the whole time Westminster KNOWS the truth and they know what will happen if and when that truth gets out and the English people see what they've done to them, not because Scotland was having all the extra cash in subsidies but because they have been creaming off the top for decades, making themselves richer and more powerful without a single shit being given about anyone else. That is what they fear most, their lie being exposed and their greed being laid out for all to see because that's when the pitchforks really will come out and a proper French style revolution will take place ..... THAT my friends is why Westminster and it's cohorts and other allies will do and say absolutely ANYTHING to maintain the status quo ..... because their very existence depends on it.

I agree, she's used the EU issue as the reason to call the referendum. But in fairness Scotland voted to stay and under her ideological standpoint she's seen it as a nation's vote that has gone unheared at Westminster.

I never said I agreed with it although at the same time it doesn't concern me as it's an issue for the Scottish people. Infact I don't agree with it and from a personal standpoint it would be sad, but that's personal and I'm only voicing it because you have assumed I am for some strange reason pro-Scottish Independence. What I am in favour of is that for a set of people to decide their own future and that also includes the Catalans, Basques and Galicians if they so wish. In saying this, they're not actually countries where as Scotland actually is. But to cut it all short... All I was saying is that I don't understand the jibes being thrown at Sturgeon when all she's doing is complying with her ideology and the political standpoint she believes in and was voted in for. She hasn't betrayed anyone and neither did Farage.

Mate I don't get it... She's doing EXACTLY the same thing Farage was working towards for years. She's working for what she sees as her people's wishes... The people that voted for her. Why else would you vote for a nationalist party which in essence is what UKIP were when he done all of his work.

All this surprise I'm listening too everywhere over the past two days as to Sturgeon's stance is hilarious. I had to rip into a friend of mine too! She is the leader of the SNP for god's sake! She's doing her job! If Scotland go independent they'll be ripped into by Europe and used as an example tool for all those splinter regions elsewhere in Europe that are thinking the same thing. Too much power lies in other bigger ponds.

Very few coaches have an inbred system mate. Athletic players are brought up on a more direct style of football and Valverde has had a job of harnessing that and not trying to change the players. He knows Barça and won't want to change it.

Valverde knows Barça. He played there and learned much of his coaching skills while working at La Masia. Plus his temperament is good for Barça... A calming figure. The fact he trusts youth is also a plus.

LFC MadLad (I know it's a cliché) Tanksie (Danny) FIB (sorry mate ) TrueBlue Bluewolf (why hasn't he joined us yet ) Berserker (I honestly imagine him doing this after each and every post) Josh (unoriginal I know but is there any other way to imagine him) 666 (FourSix) Artful Dodger Machado Rebel Tsubasa Fusion (In all honestly this is a look at the future)

You two should be ashamed of your vocab!

I think so mate, because (and I tell no lie) Thibaut Courtois has told reporters that he hasn't listened and won't listen to any invitation to sign for Real Madrid because he doesn't trust the fax machine they've bought. So it seems the phone lines will once again be activated between Man Utd and Real Madrid. Apparently De Gea himself has offered his iPhone for tethering incase the line breaks down.

It was only a scare in the end and Florentino Pérez calmed everyone's nerves when he informed the world's press (even FOX News and the BBC were there to see the package opened) that the package was simply a brand spanking new state of the art fax machine.

In the real experts view Ernesto Valverde should be the one to take over and according to them, the perfect appointment in every sense. Jorge Sampaoli in practically every poll that has been done in Spain is indeed the fans' favourite.

Some of their depth are errors made in the confectioning of the squad. Robert Fernández (one of the technical directors) is a big part of the reason for these issues and the decisions he has made at times, I could've made and probably would've. Quality players, but it's looking more and more like one or two are the wrong players for the team.

Pinch of salt indeed mate... Riders like Márquez and Rossi want competition to inspire them.

Neymar responds to Di María When Paris Saint-Germain's Cavani scored what looked to be the all important 3-1 against Barça at the Camp Nou, Ángel di María responded (probably due to his Real Madrid past) with a finger to his mouth shushing the Barcelona crowd... Well Neymar on his Instagram account had an answer for him (a more educated and sophisticated one).

I expect Ducati to be more than competitive but as you know, for me there's only one man... Marc Márquez!

Tom Brady on his Instagram account...

With the will and a strong heart the seemingly impossible becomes possible The feat will live forever because great moments come from people who are willing to make an extraordinary sacrifice against adversity. When everything and everyone around you loses hope and only sees the impossible, it's those that believe, that can make the change. The lesson isn't even the fact seemingly impossible feats can be overcome, the thing we should learn in any walk of life is that even if you go down, doing it by trying to overcome with fight and spirit will make you carry on with gladness in your heart. From that moment on both yourself and all those around you will see life in a different light... They will never forget! The following video is a compilation of mostly people that lived the moment with their smartphone or tablet coupled with some moments from tv and radio. I personally love the final moments how it ends. The euphoria you visualise is pure unadulterated disbelief and almost a feeling of spontaneous personal closure. From people in the Camp Nou, to people all over the world, commentators in the stadium, the players, and people watching at home... This final video is the commentary of various Spanish radio stations in the moment Sergi Roberto scores the final goal.

I understand why Vieira is doing that but it's total rubbish. So they've been letting him down for 10 years now? And in that time there's been all sorts of different players. So when new players are signed the ones that were there before give the new ones a phone call to tell them not to perform and let down Arsene Wenger. What a load of tosh!