egg

Yep. Daft words from Vaughan, and a daft decision from the ECB.

I think he would have made it if it wasn't for the Mings/Maguire/TAA situation. Overall though, I'm glad we've taken the opportunity to get a better CB in the squad.

White plays for Brighton. He hasn't been picked because he plays for a bigger team.

Neither. I'd have preferred Lingard or Watkins who'd have more chances of influencing the score.

I thought the same. I was convinced it'd be Lingard or Watkins. I suspect this as much about Maguire cover/replacement as it is a TAA replacement.

Jeez. You're honestly saying JWP wasn't picked so "they" get to see him move clubs?

If this was American football where you can bring a kicker on I'd see your point, but JWP was never going to start so those set pieces would never have got used.

Yep, that's the one. Maguire needs to tweak something in training or whatever to be binned off, otherwise we go in with a squad a man light. Crazy.

I'm not convinced we needed another defender, but with Maguire still crocked and unable to be replaced, this is probably the best pick.

That's correct. Racists are out there, it's a sad part of society. Taking the knee won't end it though, and black players will unfortunately continue to cop it from the minority element. I don't pretend to know the answer, but it seems to me that the more the racists are hearing and reading in the media that their words are having a negative impact, the more they're doing it. I'm not saying that ignoring it will make it go away because it won't, but highlighting appears to be making it worse.

What's socialism got to do with it? BLM is a stand alone political organisation that stands for its own beliefs.

Simple yes or no questions for you: 1. do you acknowledge that the knee is symbolic of BLM? 2.do you acknowledge that BLM is a political movement that stands for something other than racial equality? When you've answered yes to both, we'll address the other points you raise.

Thank you, I'll take a look.

Yep, exactly that. The thing on this thread and others like it as that people support an anti racism stance, but have the ability to see that this method has done more harm than good.

Ha!! In all seriousness, stuff like this is divisive. It gives those that need no excuse to demonstrate their racist leanings to boo. It also brings in boos from people who support equality and anti-racism, but who feel that this particular method has no place in football. That gives an illusion of a wider race issue, thus a stronger wish to take an anti race stance, and the cycle goes in. It may just be me, but I think a good and necessary message has chosen to ride the wrong horse.

I think they'll carry on, and all there'll do is widen divisions. A slogan, a statement, anything to say that equality is supported would be fine. They have to understand that doing something that is affiliated with an aggressive political movement is not cool, and that saying that they aren't doing in the name of those politics doesn't alter that there's a link. That's all aside of any virtue signalling, no place for politics of any sort in football, etc, arguments.

We need to see the data, and you have to wander why we're not. I'd imagine it could only give reassurances about the vaccine, or otherwise.

Cheers. What we don't know is how many of those tested have been vaccinated - that for me is the acid test. If the positive tests are truly amongst the unvaccinated then that's understandable and an easy problem to solve, although it seems to render the herd immunity argument a weak one.

Regardless of why we're told the players are taking the knee, it's a fact that it's a symbol of an unpleasant political movement. The message doesn't alter that. Football has made the point that it stands for equality. I don't understand why it needs to do it before every game, and using something controversial to do it. It's gone too far and is becoming divisive. End it now.

What are are we to take from that? The variant is getting past the vaccine? Genuine question as I don't know.

O'leary is right on this. What's the point of a vaccine if we can't get on with life. Either it works or it doesn't.

With our budget there'll have to be compromises sadly. If he's a better shot stopper than we have currently, and no worse with his feet, that's an upgrade I'd take. An improvement with his feet would be a bonus.

Whitey, your posts are littered with moans and complaints. If it's not covid and not being able to go here or there, it's your seat at the stadium. You're entitled to an opinion, but I don't sense any gratitude for what you can do, just the focus on what you can't. In saying that I'm getting on with my life it's not "I'm all right Jack", but more of a "we're (most of us) all right Jack". The reality is that most people are getting on with normal lives, and I make no apology for being one of them. If you are offended by a positive outlook in a difficult world, I can't help you with that. I'm quite content that I'll continue to enjoy what I can, even if it's not what I would have done in normal times. There's nothing "nasty" or "selfish" about that. Sure, many people aren't all right, I get that and live in the real world, but that shouldn't stop the vast majority for whom things are OK getting the most out of life and not focusing on the bits that are currently missing.

You're fusing issues Weston. My initial point was to Whitey and his constant whingeing. If he was a pilot or nightclub owner I'd have sympathy for him. The overseas travel industry is a bit fucked, for now, but the personal impact on the masses is that they have to holiday in margate to majorca. Boo fucking boo, get some perspective and be grateful for any holiday. The night time industry is very fucked which is a tragedy for the owners, but for the masses they can and have adjusted. My youngest had to make do with spoons last night but she'd rather have gone clubbing. Guess what, she had a cracking night. Don't conflate the impact on business owners and some staff with the lives of the masses. I can criticise Whitey for whingeing whilst having sympathy for the owners of music venues.

If you need to ask why limited restrictions are still in place its a pointless debate mate.