egg

Don't under estimate what our youngsters earn. He'll be on a wage way above Lincoln's level. We'll be paying the lad 7 figures over the term of that contract, and I'd wager that he won't have a first touch at the end of it anywhere near that of a premier league player, or even near the level of the uber crap Shane Long. Poor business for me.

No idea on both. You've gotta hope that double jabbing will seriously reduce the risk of long covid though. I know of 3 double jabbed people who've tested positive recently so it's definitely getting about. One describes it as like being hungover but he's hungover most days so it's not an issue for him, the other 2 say it's like the vaccine was but less severe. It's hard to know, but at least 2 of them were candidates for proper illness if they hadn't been jabbed.

Yep. Too many people have focused/are focusing on deaths and hospital admissions, but don't think what some people who've never been admitted to hospital have to live with. I know people with long covid. A youngster at work has two friends early/mid 20's with it - 1 is an elite athlete who still gets breathless walking 50 feet a year on, and the other is doing slightly better but not much.

Hmm. Not referring to the minority as the minority makes the problem sound more widespread than it is. The issue is how we tackle the obvious problem, but I can't see how misrepresenting the scale of the problem addresses that. Please explain what I'm missing.

Apologists? Nothing wrong in asking whether the current focus / action is actually working, or enquiring what might be better. I'm struggling with the notion that talking about what isn't working, but carrying on doing that is a good idea. I've yet to hear one suggestion of how to improve things. Not one. Pointing out the above does not make one an apologist.

It shouldn't happen, but it does. How is the current focus, reporting, knee taking, out crying, etc, going to actually address the underlying issue that we have minority of racist idiots?

Agent

I don't have the answer to racism either, but what seems undeniable is that since BLM / the knee, it's either got worse in a football context, or it's being more widely reported. It seems to me that there's two main schools of thought. Speak out/take action and raise awareness, or stay silent. Speaking out has led us to where we are. That seems to have achieved nothing positive but that's probably as there is no actual plan to address the underlying issue of racism amongst a minority of idiots. Staying silent leads to the inevitable "silence is acceptance" line. However, if the online racist bullies keep hearing that there behaviour is having an impact, chances are there'll do it more. Feed the troll or don't feed the troll. If an angry troll is starved it'll eventually die.

If Jankewitz has turned to a life of crime or is beating up his colleagues I'd agree you, but let's not put him in that category - his biggest crime (over and above his horror tackle) is wanting to play the game that he's payed to play.

What's wrong with saying if I can't play here then I'd like to go so that I can play? That's not an ultimatum. His stance was perfectly reasonable to me, and fair play to him for not wanting to sit on his arse stealing a living.

You miss the point. If the lad has been released for non footballing reasons, then the non footballing reasons should be capable of being managed. If he was released because he wasn't good enough football wise then fine, although from what i've seen that would be a surprising decision.

The lad wanted to play and was willing to move to a lesser club in a lesser league if he couldn’t play here. I can't fathom how you twist that to an "ultimatum" or any other negative. None of us know if anything else was happening behind the scenes, but if it was and the solution was to sell the lad, that doesn't scream effective management to me.

Pork

Dancer

Eye

Was always on the cards after last season sadly. I saw the lad play a few times and he seemed to have everything, but for whatever reason(s), Ralph didn't fancy him. Good luck to him.

Good post. I was convinced that he'd find a place for Henderson from the start. Midfield is crucial and they dominated there. Mount was going awol and was often our furthest forward player, but that may have been the plan or he may have taken it on himself as Kane didn't make many runs. That said, who'd have picked out any runs, most of Phillips and Rice passes picked out our defenders.

You completely overlook nerves and occasion for which there was no evidence until it mattered. In his short time on the pitch, Saka looked as though the occasion got to him. By the time it was his turn, it was all on him. That was the evidence that mattered, not what he did in training on Tuesday. Sarnia Cherie is correct, it was stupid to mention ability or wages, they're completely irrelevant.

This isn't the thread for it, but don't confuse English football with English society.

What a kid earns is irrelevant, as is how good he is. He's 19 years old and should never have been put in that position when there were senior players on the pitch.

Of course, but that kid was always missing that. Absolutely shitting himself. How he is in training is irrelevant, on the night everyone could see he didn't want it.

Really? I find it surprising that it can't be changed. The kid Saka was always missing that. Poor. Kid.

Keane just made the obvious point. Why would Sterling or Grealish stand there and leave Saka to walk up and take that. I'd add Shaw and the other senior players to that.

To be fair, if we'd won that we'd have robbed them. One shot on target and outplayed. We lost to the best team of the tournament, and in the night. That said, why two kids were put up after the Rashford clusterfuck I have no idea. Sterling, Stones, Shaw, Phillips or Grealish should have stepped up to the plate. Meh.

I'd play Saka on the right, Sterling left. I have a feeling it'll be Mount though. I'm convinced he'll find a place for Henderson in the middle.