Lighthouse

I’m not comparing Gorbachev to Putin, I’m highlighting the absolutely catastrophic impact nuclear fallout has on the credibility of a regime and the support of its population. Im not saying there will never be another nuclear strike anywhere In the world, ever. I am saying that it won’t be over the Donbas region against a country backed by NATO.

Decided to pop down today, what with the weather being nice. No chance of a Hants victory though, shame.

I think some people have seen too many Tom Clancy novel/movies. Gorbachev even said in his memories that Chernobyl was the biggest trigger in the demise of the Soviet Union and that was an accident. Nuclear holocaust really isn't a popular phrase in any language and unless there's a genuine existential threat to Russia itself, it's not going to happen. It's not possible to be this paranoid about the west AND launch an unprovoked nuclear first strike against their allies.

Oh okay, so a player we signed when Puel was manager wasn’t necessarily the player he actually wanted to sign?

But Redmond, Boufal and Caceres were all his signings, replacing Koeman’s old players. Why would they make the team worse?

The weird thing about Puel was that when VVD got injured and we signed Caceres, it didn't seem to improve the team.

Whatever he decides to try when he runs out of meat and metal to throw into the grinder, it wont be nuclear weapons. If he orders that, people will stop him, the military will refuse to launch.

He won’t use nuclear weapons, it is just rhetoric. He’s desperate, sure but he will need the military to launch such weapons and they won’t do that unless the west launches first. As soon as people start doing that we’re into entire cities being vapourised territory. Nobody wants that, they’re just trying to scare the west.

The kind of critical acclaim Nish Kumar can only dream of.

I was hoping he’d snap it over his thigh, like he’d just shanked a five iron on a tricky par-four.

People would rather fake an amazing life on social media than live one for real.

Every game; KWP, JWP and Broja. If Long and AA can start games for us in the PL then so can Barnes and J Rod.

Dyche was there for ten years, Ralph has only been here four. Surely Dyche benefits from more than double the own-squaddiness? Plus Pope, Tarkowski, Mee, Cornet, Barnes, J Rod, McNeil, Brownhill and maybe Taylor would all have made our starting XI last season.

Yes, that’s why I just said: YOU are the one arguing that managers have their own squad, I don’t believe that at all. By that virtue YOU must also believe Moyes was better with someone else squad and is now in the relegation zone with his own. You believe this. Not me.

Right, so that "own squad," stuff is all nonsense then. Moyes took 'someone else's squad' to Europe but when he built 'his own squad' slid gradually and consistently down into the relegation zone. If Ralph's squad is in 13th, Moyes squad is in 18th.

Is it just me who finds everyone lining the route taking photos to be in poor taste? It’s less paying respect and more ‘for the Instagram’.

Well, it’s one or the other, you can’t have it both ways. I’d cross check that with West Ham fans, they’ve scored three points more than us in the whole of 2022. I honestly don’t think Ralph is anything amazing, just that he’s done a competent job with the resources he’s had available, I.e. a relegation standard squad. I would have expected a squad of that standard to get relegated at some point over the last four years. They haven’t and Ralph takes some credit for that. If you don’t like those low expectations point the finger at Gao and Kat, for investing nothing whilst other owners threw half a billion at their club, and Les and Ross, for totally wasting the money we did have from selling our better players. If people want to replace him then fine but some of the names being thrown around are bizarre. Dyche got a better squad relegated and was 15 point behind us when he was sacked. Moyes has been no better for almost a year, with a squad full of £25m+ players. Rodgers has been even worse, bottom of the league and two of our better defenders under Ralph can’t get near their squad.

Sack Ralph, he’s had four years to build his team and has been dreadful since the end of February, only winning four league games. Get Moyes in, he’s had four years to build his team and has been dreadful since the end of February, only winning four league games.

Genuinely, what did Mike Tindall get four medals for? I assume one is an M/OBE, surely he’s not wearing his WC medal from 2003.

This is actually quite impressive, your post is dripping in sarcasm and yet everything you’ve said is totally true. I’m not joking, you’ve genuinely hit the nail on the head here.

If it’s anything like the cricket, they just play highlights of a funeral in the West Indies from six years ago.

My point is that he is achieving worse results with better players than Ralph has had up until this summer. It’s not a hypothetical, I’m talking about what he is doing right now, with better players.

Yesterday’s team, which lost 6-2 to Spurs, included Evans, James, Ndidi, Maddison, Tielemans, KDH, Barnes, Ihenacho, Daka and Vardy. They would ALL have gotten into our team last season. Vestergaard and Bertrand were two of our better defenders but can’t get near Leicester’s match day squad. If this is, "as far as he can take," those players, what kind of results would he have got from Bednarek, Moi, Walcott and Long?

We’ve had pretty much the lowest net budget in the league and yet avoided relegation for four successive seasons. How is that not, "a tune"? I’m having to exaggerate to try and make a point which you still don’t seem to get. You keep going on about, "his team," because the players were signed on his watch. How about Sebastian Haller, Patson Daka, Danny Ings, Ollie Watkins, Rodrigo, Raul Jiminez, Mitrovic or any of the other players who are £10m beyond our record signing?

It’s not about excuses it’s about expectations and operating limitations. Unless you actually believe Ralph prefers Adam Armstrong to Haaland and refused to sign Gapko because he preferred Moi? No squad in this league is the property of any individual manager, only the club they work for?