Sheaf Saint

Oh Macca. That's horrendous.

Looks like we don't even have to wait for the second half 😒

Def needs a bit more practice

Yep

Of course the Geordie co-commentator doesn't think it's a red card. BBD didn't do anything - Schar headbutted him. Easy decision for the ref.

Everton 0-1 Brighton

Well we're winning the possession contest 68/32 at the moment.

Couldn't tell from the replays I saw.

First blood to us but offside. Was Smallbone's shot on target? Would it have been better for Stephens to leave it, knowing he was offside?

And that's OK, as long as BBD and Arma get a few between them, as well as the midfielders chipping in.

I think so. We'll definitely be seeing more of it this season, after it proved so effective against Leeds in the playoff final. It certainly makes us much more solid defensively, and given our propensity to concede 3+ at times last season, that will be much needed in the PL.

Yeah I'm not knocking Archer here. I'm quite enthused about him from what I've seen. I just think there was a bit of confusion in the way Saint_clark worded his post, that's all. I messaged a Villa supporting mate yesterday and asked if this signing was something I should be excited about. He replied: "Excited might be a bit strong, but he works hard and is a tidy finisher". On that basis he would appear to be an upgrade on Che, and certainly on Mara.

Which is more than Archer has ever managed in the PL, is the point Clarkey was making.

This makes me want to dance like a baby

Well that all happened quickly. This signing has made me quiver with excitement.

I think we do. Che might have had his faults, but we really missed his presence when he wasn't playing last season. He was frequently the glue that held our attacking play together. It would be a huge oversight to go into a PL season without a single player who can offer what he did in that respect. Unless, of course, we are pinning all our hopes on Stewart getting and staying fit. Which I really hope we're not.

Is this one of your cryptic clues? Were we working on a deal to bring Neil Shipperly back but it's been scuppered after being leaked to the press?

It's a very interesting, well researched thread, but it still falls short of providing any actual evidence. The closest it gets is providing a link to an article on an independent website that makes an unverified claim as to what the lab reports for Khelif and Lin said: "abnormal". In another article, the author claims to have seen the lab results, but we only have his word for that, and if he has then it means someone has leaked them because I very much doubt the boxers themselves gave their permission for that information to be shared with the press. And if they have been leaked, then I have no doubt they would have been shared elsewhere by now. The letter from the IBA to the IOC is interesting. But, again, the really important bit is, understandably, redacted to protect the confidentiality of the athletes. On the face of it, they seem to present a compelling case, but then they went and shot themselves in the foot with that farcical press conference last week, which further eroded their credibility. Let's also remember that an IBA spokesperson was quoted as saying that there were still some irregularities with Khelif's chromosome test that prevented them from being able to commit to the assertion that she is in fact genetically male. Ultimately Hypo, you might turn out to be right after all. But it's the way you have so stubbornly and arrogantly insisted you are right over the course of this thread, without any actual concrete evidence to back up your claims, that rubs people up the wrong way. That and the very obtuse way you deliberately keep referring to Khelif as 'they/them'. She has always believed herself to be a woman, was raised as a woman and continues to identify as a woman. so until such time as it is medically proven otherwise, it is very disrespectful to dismiss that and choose to gender her however you wish, based on some unconfirmed stuff you read online. Anyway, in an interesting development, Khelif has now launched a lawsuit against, among others, Elon Musk and JK Rowling for online harassment, following their Twitter comments about her sex and eligibility. This is an interesting move, because these are two very rich people who can no doubt afford the world's best legal counsel, who will no doubt demand Khelif's legal team provide evidence to prove their clients' claims were false. It will be fascinating to see how this plays out.

Well if we do sign him, he had better be decent. If he turns out to be shit then I might have to change my username.

Indeed. There is obviously a very important discussion to be had about the impacts of historical immigration on the UK and how to address that in future. I don't think anybody disputes that, regardless of their political persuasion. However... Under no circumstances whatsoever should we allow a knuckle-dragging, race-baiting, convicted violent criminal like Robinson to shape that discourse. Whatever good points he might have to make are not exactly original or groundbreaking, and simply an afterthought for him, used as an excuse for his thuggish behaviour. He's a hypocritical, self-aggrandising shit-stirrer, whose actions hinder rather than help the cause. Fuck him. He's irrelevant.

Are you suggesting that we should refuse to accept any refugees at all and just let everyone else deal with them instead?

We can only loan 2 from the PL. We can get more from abroad.

The perfect combination of hypocrisy and cognitive dissonance.

I can't seem to find the old yellow one that @trousers used to post regularly, but this still sums up the pointlessness of this constant bickering.

Doesn't this sum up about 99% of football manager interviews?