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Szoboszlai>Maddison The Hungarian is younger. The Hungarian will cost a lot more money to transfer, but he will ask for less salary, so the price will probably end up being quite similar. I like that Maddison has played well in the Premier League and we agree that Szoboszlai is a bit more unknown, but that's not 100% effective either. How many players who played well in other Premier teams did not here? I think Maddison's peak level is where he is today, but Szoboszlai can still improve and become a star. I really like Maddison (in fact, last year I commented here that I would sign him before Paquetá), , but I think the Hungarian can go to another level. I think Maddison's style of play is slower, calmer and he doesn't have as much pressure. Szoboszlai seems to me a player with much more drive, with a good stride and capable of playing very well on the counterattack. I think Szoboszlai can play both on the right and in the middle and he can be a good long ball shooter and a good passer against tight defences.

it doesn’t a matter what happens in the future, this season will always be looked back on as one of the best. A squad massively outperforming, players who played like donkeys under Bruce transformed. Expectations smashed harder than Gemmill’s predictions. Returns even more impressive than CT’s crypto portfolio

You’re just saying that in a vain attempt to get me to read your posts.

Will they live vicariously through this one’s mild successes as well?

I’d hate to see the ESL happen and don’t think it will. However two things are particularly funny with regard to those entitled cunts whinging on RAWK. Firstly, they only want the ESL because they’ve missed out in the CL next season. Secondly, do they not realise Man City (and ourselves) would get an invite too?

Comparing themselves to barca has striking similarities barca average attendance 83 k marras 25k barca never played 2nd or 3rd tier marras have barca play in the champions league 3427 games in Europe competitions marras 2 Marras rowed a boat to the Basque Country barca didn’t

Of course Tyne and Wear exists. We had to get them to pay for the airport and the mag-etro after all.

tremendous article that. think if tony gillian ever went transatlantic he'd be a shoe-in for a pulitzer prize.

It would be funny enough anyway but they absolutely love vastly inferior players like Cattermole and Kevin Ball. The latter would’ve probably needed a Vanuatuan grandparent to get an international call-up.

Your post quality is dropping off a cliff under a bit of pressure.

And as I said before, they did the same thing before when they formed the premier league.

I checked on that chat GPT about this as I had not heard of the Battle of Boldon Hill. This is what I got: I couldn't find any information about a battle specifically called the Battle of Boldon Hill during the English Civil War. It's possible that the name is either incorrect or refers to a smaller skirmish or engagement that may not be widely recorded or known.

Prediction: 66 points Actual: 67 points Feels like expectations were smashed quite a bit harder than what will godown in history as really quite an excellent prediction. I think you might be looking for a MUCH bigger expectations gap. Maybe something like "Liverpool WILL win all their remaining games" compared to what actually happened.

Their desire to rewrite history etc., man. I don’t know if you’ve seen all that Durham thread but they make a few references to The Battle of Boldon Hill. I’m not sure but I’d bet the Wikipedia page (which it definitely doesn’t warrant) was created by a Mackem. Almost all the citations come from one source. It was basically a minor skirmish in the English Civil War. It was part of a much wider series of battles etc between the Royalists based in Newcastle and the Scots. The Scots were allied to the Parliamentarians in convenient ‘the enemy of my enemy is my friend’ arrangement. The Scots wanted religious autonomy following the Act of Union and there’d been a war even before the English Civil War over it. I did that period in a-level history and we had a local historian who came in and told us all about the Battle of Marston Moor and the Siege of Newcastle and so on (no mention of Boldon Hill btw). The Scots being victorious in the siege was significant because Newcastle was a crucial coal port (as well as it diverting Royalist soldiers from fighting the Parliamentarians). The mackems have interwoven their supporting the Scots in this skirmish at Boldon Hill, despite there not being much evidence of any Parliamentarian forces in Sunderland at that time. Possibly because Sunderland barely existed. But the Scots did garrison in the area that is now Sunderland. Anyway, and I apologise for the waffle, this (possibly fictitious) mackem involvement (in an insignificant event in the context of that conflict) is what forms the entire basis of this ‘the Sunderland v Newcastle rivalry goes back to the English Civil War’ bollocks

Bizarre article, brings Bolton into it, said there might be reasons why it's better for them to remain in greater Manchester but says he couldn't be arsed to look into it. Sums them up, especially with Brexit.

The local press are on to it now: https://www.sunderlandecho.com/news/opinion/why-sunderland-should-rejoin-county-durham-4146591 I read it twice in case I’d missed something but no, that’s it

We've just feigned interest so Villa buy him.

This you?

20 years in, yours continues to flatline.

You’re comparing him to a toasted cheese sandwich? 🤔

I thought this too "Dunno what the mags are talking about marra, there's mackems in the PL" "Gerrin, that goal against the mags went in off Clarke's arse, 7 in a row that" "Always loved Palace me, proper club. They love us down there an all"

Dead cat

Not enough.

Interests- Choking on oranges, pegging, Narnia.

Can't recall if I posted this the other day but RAWK has a thread where posters are so enraged by the audacity of clubs like City and ourselves being state owned that they want to bin off the entire premier league and go and make a super league instead. State owned teams would be banned and only 4 teams could enter from each country. Naturally Liverpool would be first on the list for England. https://www.redandwhitekop.com/forum/index.php?topic=354280.0 Bitch, before we were taken over I couldn't even have told you who won the league on a given season two weeks after it ended, that's how low my interest in your big 6 nonsense used to be. And while I'm not saying that it'll be more enthralling for the other clubs now that Newcastle might threaten to win it at some point, let's not pretend that the apathy will be new. What's new, I suppose, is that Liverpool fans may be the ones feeling it for change.

County Durham doesn’t speak to the likes of plebs like Tyne and Wear.

Has anyone asked County Durham whether they want them? 🙂

That’s his cojones. Hes all sack and no sausage

Did you fail your history A level? I only aak because the civil war was 1642-1649 and the act of union was 1707

Honestly I know he's not an elite 'keeper but I think not properly replacing Schmeichel was what really fucked them. Not just because his replacements were terrible, but his leadership wasn't replaced at all.

Looks like his penis is holding itself up

The second division aristocrats, the Barcelona of the EFL know the real deal when they see it, their players, yes, our second player to get a call up to the actual Brazil squad, not so much.

Basically says Szoboszlai'a not a diving fanny and is much more suited to Howe's pressing tactics. He doesn't push as high up the pitch and is a better passer.

shhh, this board might form a part of their scouting network

No but I think I know him…

Honestly same, giving a shit about the actual football right the way through genuinely helped. That and being desperate to keep hold of first 😅

They did almost win it at the end though. If Pope doesn't make that save, the whole gameplan would be lauded as a masterstroke. If they'd opened up and played us properly, they would have lost by 2 or 3 goals IMO.

I like the idea of calling him "the Hungarian" to get around trying to remember the spelling of his name too.

To be honest, it was Everton's 5-1 demolition of Brighton that kept them up. So, really, Brighton should be docked points for being enemies of football.

I am spent! Brilliant porn. Hard to pick a favorite out of Miggy's contributions.

His grandad was a bit of a diver apparently

Villa had a much better squad than Howe had to work with. Emery did well with them cos they're basically a good squad that was being criminally mismanaged by Gerrard.

Interesting article; apologies if posted elsewhere. Uefa’s wealth distribution favours established elite while putting Newcastle in their place Martin Samuels Saturday May 27 2023, 6.00pm, The Sunday Times If Newcastle United are knocked out of the Champions League at the group stage next season, they will earn in the region of £21.5 million. If the same fate befalls Manchester City, it is likely to be nearer £58 million. And fair enough, you may say. City won the league, Newcastle are fourth at present. Yet here’s the thing. Even if those positions were flipped — so City are fourth, Newcastle first — and both went out at the group stage, City would still be close to £20 million ahead. Thank Uefa’s ten-year historical co-efficient pot. Keeps the rich rich, keeps the poor poor. And exposes the myth around financial fair play. If clubs can only spend what they earn, and then the tournament regulations restrict that capacity, where’s the financial fairness? Yet to keep the elite clubs sweet, and to ward off the threat of a breakaway super league, Uefa has increasingly skewed its revenue streams in favour of the biggest and wealthiest. Then the financial rules tie each club to the size of its revenue stream. And see what they did? Derren Brown would be proud. In recent years, just about every major change made in wealth distribution by Uefa has benefited the establishment. In 2016-17, it was possible for Leicester City to be the Premier League’s highest earners in Europe. They won their domestic competition, they went further in the Champions League than any other English club, so it made sense. That season, Leicester earned €17.1 million (£14.86 million) more from Uefa competition than their nearest rivals, Arsenal. That has changed. Without unimagined success — and also unimagined failure on the part of all their Premier League rivals, which gives one club a greater share of the television pool — it is hard to see how Newcastle can repeat this. It’s why a club of Leicester’s size can win the league one year, the FA Cup a short while later and then be plunged into FFP crisis soon after. The Champions League, and European football generally, is no longer worth the same to new arrivals and the established elite, no matter what the new club has achieved. The ten-year historical co-efficient pot distributes revenue according to a club’s performance in Europe over the past decade. The total, £522 million, is divided on a sliding scale, with Real Madrid in line for £31.65 million and Manchester City £28.67 million despite that 5-1 aggregate semi-final scoreline. Madrid are rewarded for being good some years ago, regardless of how they perform now. Yet Newcastle most recently played in Europe in the Europa League in 2012-13. They literally have no historical co-efficient points in the present system. This means they are assigned one-fifth of the English overall co-efficient, quite probably the lowest total in the competition, and worth £989,000. That payment would not change, even had they been league champions. By comparison, Arsenal will receive £21.75 million and Manchester United £24.72 million. Newcastle could switch places with Manchester United this afternoon and it would make no difference to the cut decided on past performance. Historical co-efficients are not interested in what just happened; only what went before. So far, so protectionist; but then factor FFP into it with clubs only spending what they earn and you see how corrupt the whole idea is, with the wealthy lobbying to place limitations on the earning potential of upstart rivals. And it will get worse. When the new Champions League format begins in 2024-25, it will include two additional performance-related places. Originally, these were going to be awarded to the clubs with the highest five-year co-efficient that had not already qualified through league position but, rightly, there was uproar. This could have resulted in an established elite club skipping from domestic sixth place, over the fifth placed team, and into Uefa’s marquee competition. No prizes for guessing who was keen on that but, for once, the word fairness was applied in its correct context and Uefa backed down. Now the two extra places will go to teams from the countries with the best co-efficient ratings from the previous campaign. Next year, that would have been England and Italy. Most years, let’s be frank, it’s going to be England and somebody. Nothing taken for granted, of course — reliable Spain has underperformed in 2022-23 — but it is probable the Premier League will get five over the line with some regularity. The more English clubs the merrier. Yet this season that would have ruined one of the more compelling narratives towards the end of the season — will Liverpool catch United or Newcastle? — and with ten-year historical co-efficients so important, it helps to maintain the dominance of the cabal. Instead of missing out on the Champions League next season, Liverpool would continue their run of six straight years in the competition, building on their historical ranking as they go, and making it harder for smaller rivals to get their share. This all then bleeds into calculations around FFP. It is why some observers refuse to be weaned off the idea that clubs like Newcastle — and City before them — should not meekly continue to be feeders for the elite. Last week the former Liverpool midfielder Dietmar Hamann was discussing the midfielders needed to bolster Jürgen Klopp’s team for next season. “I’d like a player like Joelinton, who’s got a physical presence,” he said. But why would Joelinton leave Newcastle, who have edged Liverpool out of the Champions League, unless it was felt there was a limit on what a player could achieve there? Witness the debate around Newcastle’s proposed £25 million-a-year shirt sponsorship deal with Sela, who are majority-owned by the Saudi Public Investment Fund, as are the club. Sela are the IMG of Saudi Arabia, organising events such as motorsport’s Race of Champions. This deal would fall into the remit of the Premier League’s related-party transactions. Yet no such scrutiny would be applied if Sela went into business with United. The longest-standing commercial partner at Old Trafford is Saudi Telecom. And this again seeps into the fabric of FFP. It’s fine for United to make money from Saudi Arabia, but if Newcastle do it, there’s suspicion. In the meantime, nobody looks at the elite clubs and Uefa’s ten-year historical co-efficient payments and spies related parties. Yet they might as well be joined at the hip.