Rayvin

I do get the impression that they only brought him along that time in order to get that record.

Yeah but at this point I'm fairly sure that Ashley is willing to put up with considerable amounts of discomfort just to piss off the fanbase.

I kind of admire the fact that a relatively understated player took that record but each to their own I guess.

Went back and had a look myself - one thing I don't quite get... why does @Ant hate Miroslav Klose..?

Aye but Villa had that coming. Glorious result that one

Yeah I mean, 7-1 is right at the far end of 'acceptable within the professional game' for me. Probably because we beat Spurs 7-1 in the Keegan era. I remember us beating Sheff Wed 8-0 but that felt like something we needed to do as a club given the difficult period prior. If we'd beaten them 13-0 I'm not sure how I would have felt - I think after 5 or 6 it stops being as enjoyable. Although I think it might be different at club level compared to national level. If England had beaten San Marino 13-0 and celebrated every goal, I'm fairly sure I would have cringed. I mean I would have stopped watching at 7 or 8 anyway.

https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2019/jun/14/experience-i-killed-my-classmate-with-a-javelin The horror. I remember stories like this from sports day in school and it always made me really nervous about javelin throwing. Didn't really think it had actually happened..

The Guardian is continuing to get wound up about people criticizing the US women's team for being over the top in celebrating all 13 goals scored past Thailand: https://www.theguardian.com/football/blog/2019/jun/13/usa-celebrated-all-13-goals-thailand-france-2019-world-cup If this had been a men's team, what do we think? Germany eased off on Brazil when they were 5-0 up, out of a mixture of respect and probably fear of loss of life https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/worldcup2014/article-2686789/Mats-Hummels-says-Germany-pledge-half-time-not-humiliate-Brazil-World-Cup-semi-final.html Then again, maybe it shows considerable professionalism and enthusiasm for the game, to keep going.

Ah ok, so he was sacked by West Brom over a year ago after 10 games without a win, leaving them bottom of the league. Hasn't worked since. It's fucking nailed on, this.

What has Pardew even been doing for the last couple of years...

Well, it was nice while it lasted. I'd love someone to come out and tell us -why- it failed. I mean we know why, but specifically what reason was given to the buyers.

The remain side was more than willing to compromise early on. It's the hard Brexiters who squandered that opportunity.

No news is good news. They did say it would take longer than the end of the month to sort it.

Because of course he has. At least they have one more MP now. In the meantime, here is why our politics sucks.

Change UK are now "The Independent Group for Change" because 1 - they were sued; and 2 - they're inept. Rolls off the tongue. I mean it's not even a functional acronym. TIGC. WTF.

I don't see how the two are related but ok The BBC is hardly leftwing, I might add.

In an ideal world, teacher sits down with both kids and has your son explain how he feels and the other kid has his eyes opened a bit. But that shit doesn't happen so ultimately I'm reluctantly thinking that the standing up for himself thing is the way forward. I had to at school and as soon as I did, the bullying stopped. Easier targets, etc. He doesn't have to get physical, I think simply showing he's not afraid is enough.

Dunno what to tell you man but beyond clicking the occasional BBC link someone provides in here, no. Definitely don't listen to the radio. I get my news from the Guardian and i listen to music rather than radio channels.

I dont pay for one and haven't for about 8 years. They don't even come round to check anymore. And for my part, I only watch Netflix so I'm not even ripping them off.

Rafa is perhaps bound by an NDA in all of this tbf. Would explain the quiet. Having said that, I still feel that if all parties know the outcome, and that it has in effect become clear that he won't be staying, then they would have parted company by now in order to ensure against sabotage/non-toxicity in the working environment, etc.

Don't you think he would have said something by now if he'd decided he was leaving?

Does buying big name players ever really work out for anyone? Quite often I end up thinking that certain players are really good in particular systems that have been built up around them in their 'formative' playing years, and taking them out of those environments often sees a drop in their overall playing quality. I mean I think that particular point is why Man Utd can't buy their way to success again - they have a collection of individual superstar players who lack the supporting talents of their previous 'lesser lights' teammates.

Fair, hadn't thought of it that way. My perception of him is that he's a whining crybaby who blames everyone else. He could be the best manager in the world for all i care and i still wouldn't want him based on that personality. However, your point is interesting and i can see what you're saying.

Maybe. I'm not saying anything other than I think he's benfitted from insane levels of financial backing. Truthfully, maybe that lost him his edge.

I'm saying that I'm not convinced Mourinho is all that amazing, and would be interested to see what various mid-tier PL managers could do with the kinds of budgets he usually has available to him. He clearly -was- a very good manager, possibly the best at one point, but his star is now diminishing. As someone else mentioned, it's unlikely a genuinely top tier club will pick him up - and for me, he complains too much and creates a general lack of harmony wherever he goes. I'm not saying we couldn't win things with him + money - clearly we could. I'm just saying that I suspect better options exist who would spend money far less frivolously, and who would actually develop the club at all levels rather than just one.