SWLondon Saint

I think against super defensive teams like this, you need to have someone like Bellingham on the ball instead of Anderson at the base of midfield. Anderson needs to be a bit more ambitious, but also I don't think Kane is the right player for this kind of setup, you need someone who'll move the defence around like Watkins would, running the channels and running in behind instead of always coming short.

They're clearly signing him to be the Rodri replacement, and I think he could get to that level. Rodri does none of those things you mentioned and yet Man City were a significantly worse team when he was out, so if they've got the cash then he's worth it to them. Yes daft money but that's sportswashing for you...

Spot on about the wingers. I thought they and the full backs were far too tentative, to break down a super low block like that you have to have width and runners going again and again. But to be fair, Ghana couldn't have been more obvious about parking the bus, and Spain couldn't break down Cape Verde doing the exact same thing - and Ghana are a better team with better players.

The entitlement of some people on here is just mental. Ghana have some decent players and they have been so, so defensive. I'd say they've had less attacking intent than we did in the cup against Man City, at least we broke forward with numbers a few times. This lot have barely bothered going forward at all, you can't expect to score easily when every time it goes near their box they've got everyone back there except the striker and he's halfway between their box and the centre circle.

Hopefully that'll persuade someone to pay the 'World cup premium' to take him off our hands 😆

You'd hope he'd have a bit more confidence about him than that. It did feel like the mood about the squad improved after AA left but that could equally be because Larin and Peretz are better communicators too. Quarshie I think has potential. The cup game against Liverpool I thought he was really excellent, stayed on his feet and had the speed and power to cope with their forwards. Obviously some dodgy moments too, definitely not the finished product yet.

It's a shame he's not staying but after a decent season here his team probably wants a 2-3 year contract given his injury woes. Does seem a bit ungrateful but can also see the club's perspective not wanting to extend him. I would guess he's hoping for Celtic? Free transfer would suit them and they have European football to offer.

Jesus, what a mess. Can't see this ending well for anyone except the lawyers. I remember someone was saying in the spygate thread that a lot of football, despite the big money, is really badly / incompetently run. This kind of thing just proves that....

This is starting to feel a lot like Qatar where the general arsehole-ery just pissed me off so much before the tournament I ended up not watching a single minute. Poor bloke spends 4-5 grand and has visa revoked for absolutely no reason. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c15y4l2zgnxo

Wow. That is absolutely a statement we're going for it next season, love it. Dunno if any of you follow basketball, but I'm hoping for something like the San Antonio Spurs 2014 season. In 2013, they were about to win the NBA finals, then Miami made a crazy shot, forced overtime, then won, then won the game after that to win the series. Spurs mocked as too old, chokers, etc etc. In 2014, the Spurs were the best team in the league during the year, then in the Finals against Miami who were going for 3 titles in a row, the Spurs.... absolutely destroyed them too and got their revenge. Serve it cold, lads.

On the metal front, my 9 year old who is on the ASD spectrum (Asperger's) just really likes Kerrang radio which plays rock of various intensity 🎸 - His favourite band is ACDC! I think it's something about the heavy drums or guitar chords, who knows, but I approve of this musical choice 🤘🏻

Pretty much exactly where I am, would also add that I'm still shocked just how moronic Parsons, the staff, and whoever was supposed to be 'defending' the club have been. Not sure I'll fully 'accept' it until those responsible have taken shown some responsibility and resigned for incompetence. But on a wider note, it has just reinforced my increasing apathy about football. The sportswashing, the ridiculous financial doping, the complete c**ts like Infantino sucking up to dictators, everything being a 'product'. I don't watch any football other than Saints games anymore tbh and as I mentioned in the other thread I'll probably boycott the world cup for all the 10p in ad money it'll cost them.

Yep. The description of our 'evidence' at the appeal showing a training session and then Salt saying he was pushed into it are absolutely just so incredibly stupid it's hard to believe. How could anyone think showing training was even slightly relevant to the question of principle about whether spying was going on? How on earth can you let Salt say this unless you're actively trying to get some of our staff fired and banned? Who the hell thought any of that was a good idea?! I'm so gobsmacked by the level of stupidity here I'm beginning to wonder if this all blowing up wasn't such a bad thing as some of these idiots may leave the club. But unless whoever hired them is also booted out I'm sure SR will replace them with someone even worse... 🤦🏻‍♂️

Well, I wouldn't go as far, but I definitely think it's possible for all of: We cheated + it was shit cheating and we gained nothing + Boro tried to set it up + our CEO and legal team are complete morons + Boro CEO is a dirty litigious twat + our attempt to get away with a fine was complete shite To be true at the same time.

Well, we'll never know that for sure, but isn't it awfully convenient that the only 2 we admitted we didn't win? Sounds like we've cherry picked the evidence we've offered up. Therefore on the balance of probabilities, and given all the time we spent stupidly pointing out the Leeds case, it was our choice to do it.

Who the f*** ever thought that admitting more events and telling Boro about it was a good idea????? OBVIOUSLY they're going to assume we were doing it more than that and we've chosen to only highlight times it didn't work. The sheer stupidity is absolutely mind blowing. It's not a question of having more football experience in the club, it's a question of 'did anyone in the room have a brain' and the answer appears to be a giant NO.

I think this is more or less what everyone with a brain expected to happen. Pay off the kid and his direct manager to take the blame for getting their days mixed up, they get banned, and deny everything else. Instead Parsons managed to expand the damage to what sounds like most of the footballing staff, the players, fans, and club in general. Impressive....

Another who can hold his head high after the season tbh 👏🏼

Absolutely. While I do believe in fair play if I'm playing, I definitely have zero confidence that the footballing pyramid scheme has any kind of integrity.

Also, I managed not to watch a single minute of the last world cup in Sportswashing Desert Land so I feel it would be inconsistent of me not to do the same for Wannabe Fascist Land. Wife will be happy over the summer anyway!

To be entirely honest, I didn't fancy our chances against Hull as McBurnie just had the beating of our centre backs. I would argue they're slight favourites over Boro no matter what the betting odds are.

Nah, everyone forgot about Leeds pretty much straightaway, and the fact is the spying was so incompetent people will just laugh about it which is all you can do, really.

Surely Parsons has got to go as well - if that description of what happened at Boro is correct, he's basically a boy scout in the shark tank. He thought we could 'do a Bielsa' which is just pure stupidity. Protecting the poor little analyst worked well, didn't it? - when he was always going to cop a ban, the other thing Parsons succeeded in doing was expanding the blast radius of the damage to the entire club. Just the sheer incompetence of the whole thing is mind boggling. Never put down to conspiracy what can be explained by sheer stupidity....

He has to go if he was at the helm of the 'admit it' strategy, it beggars belief. Why not cut a deal with Salt and one or 2 others to take the fall? Unless the whistleblower really did have physical proof, in which case why was everyone so stupid to put anything in writing anyway?

Trolling is trolling - I would have expected any Boro admins to ban any Saints fans from their forums too. Fact is neither set of fans won anything!