Ralph Fastenbüttl

Well this is all a bit dull, isn't it?

I try to stay away from political threads on football forums because it reminds me of how far removed I am from a lot of the fanbase. Fuck knows why I made the mistake of venturing into this one. Regarding the shirt, I'd love for these kinds of gestures to be redundant, but until we no longer hear homophobic language from the stands and players can be honest about their sexual orientation without fear, they remain necessary. We still sing about Graeme Le Saux "taking it up the rear" because he had the audacity to do crazy things like 'read books' and 'show interest in the arts'. The horror. That an open show of support for gay rights is seen as "virtue signalling" when support of causes such as the poppy is not is very telling. A rainbow shirt does not effect me, or you, or the majority of us in any way whatsoever, but to a few folk it'll mean the world. It's very easy to assert that homophobia (or racism, for that matter) is not a problem when you're a white male. I might suggest that if you do have a problem with it, then perhaps the real problem is not the one you think.

Our collective optimism pays off.

Thank feck for that.

I can see why Ralph wants another No.6. Orio has his strengths, of course, but a near complete inability to pass is somewhat problematic for a footballer.

Blimey, he looks insanely good on the ball.

Obviously delighted the comeback and trouncing didn't materialise, but honestly I don't think we played that well. As someone else said, I've seen us play a lot better and lose many, many times. But there's no shame in grabbing points from a lacking performance, and hopefully it will spur the lads on and cheer up some of you lot! Tino is utterly fantastic, and I'm hopeful Adams/Armstrong can become a class partnership.