edprice1984

Went to see last night with my daughter and her friend. Both of them are very much into Greek myth. If Nolan wanted it to be a 100% faithful recreation of the original poem and story, we would probably still be at the cinema. It's an impressive film, with excellent performances and very well shot. There are a few minor points where I would have like to have seen a bit more attention paid to the source material, particularly around the Cyclops, but I understand for pacing Nolan clearly made a decision. You don't need to know the story to enjoy it, but it probably helps a bit. Artistic interpretation of Agamemnon, the ships, the costumes etc although clearly not 'accurate' to the time, is all about the audience understanding tropes. No-one really cares if the boats used are more Viking than Greek. Robert Pattinson very good, expect to him to be in the conversations for Supporting Actor awards. The soundscape is genuinely remarkable.

Met him a couple of years ago at the Cheltenham Literary Festival. Absolute gentleman. Gutted.

Everything about this is awful. The pattern, the badge colour, the mixture of colours generally and the awful plain back! Probably our worst ever shirt.

Hummel make the best kits for individuality and specific connection to a club. However, I do think the fit and quality is questionable. The fit changed season on season when we had them. Adidas, especially when its the trefoil, are currently the best in terms of style and design (imho). Nike, occasionally come out with some decent designs, but even the big clubs end up with variations on a theme. They and Adidas are overpriced but are at least a standard fit. PUMA are interesting as they generally play it safe for the home kit, but will offer something a bit more niche for the 3rd kits. The club probably look at it and think, keep it simple (although I agree some of the design choices could be improved - the back being one), the fans want a red and white striped shirt. There are limits on what you can do with that brief. Away - rotation of Yellow, Pink, Green over the course of a couple of seasons. 3rd kit - go wild, the hardcore fans and kit geeks will likely buy that or be gifted at Christmas. I like the home shirt, although a bit basic. Hoping for some sort of sublimated image in either the Away or 3rd (I think the city map will be used in some way, based on the adverts so far.)

The massive problem for Farage, despite some suggesting that this is a master stroke (Holmes and Watson), is that if he is only going to be challenged by Count Binface then the only tactic available to him is to laugh along with the joke. Immediately undermining the whole premise of Nigel v the Establishment. If he refuses to debate openly or starts getting annoyed then he is in effect, arguing against a bin. Realistically Farage is going to win very comfortably, but all of this in terms of optics makes him look weak. There is a very fine line he has to tread to come out of this with any credibility. There is a very good argument to say, when voters are angry or fearful about Farage and Reform it means that he still has impact and potency. When people are laughing at you, then politically you are in big trouble. If he had waited for the Standards commission to report, even if that meant a suspension and by-election, he likely would have won and he could legitimately argue that the issue was now resolved (although clearly the other parties would have a field-day and continued to use the corruption as an effective attack line). All he has done, is created a farcical situation where he will be back in the same position in 3-4 months but next time having to fight off Restore and Conservatives, potentially splitting his vote share. Whether it would be enough to allow someone else to win instead is difficult to see.

He thinks he can frame this as Farage vs the Establishment - but what this now does is give free reign to every paper, every opposition party etc the opportunity to find more and more dodgy dealings and skeletons in his closet. The major parties should stand down and let him fight against Lowe for the reasons you gave. The chance to make him look thin skinned, irritable, easy to anger will have an impact. Combine that with even a modicum of effective governing over the next few weeks and the contrasts will be stark.

If re-elected, the previous investigation resumes and if he were found guilty would lead to censure, a suspension and potentially another by-election. When David Davis did something similar all the major parties didn't bother, calling it a vain stunt. Difficult for them to do something similar here. What you need is a Martin Bell style candidate standing as an Independent. They would need to be sincere and serious, so unfortunately it would rule out Count Binface (although that would be incredible!) and someone that would be seen as a genuine alternative. Even running Farage close would be incredibly damaging for him and Reform. Particularly if the whole thing had to be run again due to the Standards committee confirming his alleged mis-deeds.

The US is a different country to the one that hosted in 1994. Back then, they were generally seen in a positive light with the obvious caveats of not having a fucking clue about Football. Now 32 years on, they have become an experiment in unbounded greed and the answer to the question "What happens if you let Capitalism run amok with no guard rails?". As soon as FIFA expanded the tournament to 48 teams, only a few countries were in a position to host the thing. Also the enforced rotation of tournament hosts between different Confederations means that the US was always going to play some part. FIFA have also become even more corrupt during that time. Looking back at the stuff that went on under Havelange and Blatter, it almost seems quaint. Just a slight side note around why these tournaments aren't quite as exciting as they once were. Back in the 1980's or even 90's, we didn't have quite the wall to wall football that we do now. Brazil, Argentina and other teams would still have some mystique. Now all the top players ply their trade in Europe, most in the Premier League. There will be 205 players at this World Cup who play in the Premier League, EFL and even one from the National League. Familiarity breeds contempt to some degree.

Like most World Cup's once the football starts, it will be ok. I agree that there are too many teams - 32 was perfect - but the decision to expand was all about politics and Infantino's re-election as FIFA President. Heat and conditions will play a massive part, far more than at any other tournament since S.Korea and Japan. Although if you compare to 1994 when kick-offs were at midday (to attract the European audience) it's not quite as bad this time around. England to the Semi Finals, Japan and Norway to do very well, and Scotland to miss out on the Last 32 due to goal difference. France to win it. I am hoping for the USA to crash out early, Canada and Cyle to sneak through and very much looking forward to the Pride game between Egypt and Iran. Once you get to the knock-outs then the excitement will ratchet up.

Of course - I am not criticising anyone who is full throated in their forgiveness here. For some it will take longer, for others it may never happen. I have always felt uneasy about sacking Tonda (unless the FA ban him, where we would have no choice). I am still upset that my daughter and father missed out on Wembley, we have been lucky in that the club have been there quite a few times over the past decade, but that is not a guarantee. The statement from Dragan and from Tonda have gone a long way to satisfying me and as I said, I am nearly there. Hopefully the players are on board too and we can start next season in the same way we ended last.

Clearly if the FA don't ban him then he will be our manager in August at the start of the next season. Regarding the potential want away players, if Dragan is offering financial compensation and the club are giving guarantees on accepting offers from Premier League clubs etc, then we will be looking to make a tilt at winning the league not just promotion. I know that the financial implications of not going up could be severe, but equally you do get the sense that Dragan is here for the long haul and that we have backing to go again if the worst does happen. Tonda made an error, I am not ready to fully forgive him yet. It still hurts that we missed out on Wembley and likely promotion with a set of players who fans had really attached themselves too. It wasn't quite 2012 levels of optimism but it was getting there. If he does stay and the results on the pitch continue to be positive, he and the team will quickly win round the supporters. Let's hope we play Boro early, we get to vent and we can get behind the club.

I am sure it's been referenced elsewhere, probably on the Tonda Stay or Go thread - but as Bielsa is leaving the Uruguay job at the end of the World Cup, we have the chance to do something truly amazing.

I have always thought we should adopt the Sash as our identity. This for example is almost perfect. River Plate's 125th Anniversary kit.

Cheating is bad. (Yes there are different levels of cheating) We cheated. Tonda apparently orchestrated the cheating. Tonda also was extremely effective as manager and led us to 21 league games unbeaten and a FA Cup Semi Final. The FA are investigating and may make a ruling on whether Tonda gets a ban. If he gets a ban, we will sack him - almost certainly for Gross misconduct, meaning a reduced or no pay-out. If he isn't banned, the club will need to understand the position of the players and whether he still has their confidence and trust. If not, we will sack him. Personally, I think he will need the vast majority of the players to actively want him to stay for us to keep him. There is a quite a bit of me that thinks we should keep him, get the supporters, players and whole club to develop a siege mentality and use that to go hard at the league next season. The question is whether we as supporters (and club more generally) can be bothered with all the additional attention and 'banter' from outside? Sports Republic have another option, sack Tonda, employ a high profile, experienced manager and give him a war chest - don't sell players (unless we get massive bids) and go out and buy Peretz, Larin etc. Explicitly state that we are aiming to win the league. No doubt it will be a total mess, drag on far too long and come August we will be a mess once again.

The statement is basically all the club could say at this point. I find it incredibly unlikely that they will overturn any part of the decision - particularly expulsion. I don't think we deserve to be reinstated nor should be. However, the little devil on my shoulder also thinks for those moaning about not acknowledging Hull City, personally I couldn't give a f*ck. We are bang to rights, deserve to be chucked out, but if there is any sort of possibility that we can salvage this and then somehow win, I will be an angry supporter watching a Premier League team next season. What the club have done is morally repugnant and it is incredibly embarrassing for supporters, but as others have said, plenty of other sides have committed sustained cheating on a much larger scale. Man City, Everton, Leicester, Forest, Chelsea, Pompey, Leeds, Derby etc etc etc. I am angry, disappointed, and frankly fed up with the whole situation. We will have to get used to years and years of abuse for this from rival supporters, it's going to be a stick that we will be beaten with for a long time. Rambling thoughts from someone who hates that there is even 1% hope that we get reinstated. Bastards.