Alex

100% of CTs have never read a book

It’s not an 8.30 meet for a 9.00am kickoff by any chance, is it?

That Bobby McFerrin, known for his hit ‘Don’t Worry, Be Happy’, killed himself, ironically. Except he didn’t, of course.

I think we’re playing the long game for the long term benefits staying within the regulations. Or that is the plan. It’s obviously not straightforward given every other club acts in its own interests. We’re frustrated as fans because we’re still of the mindset we reach cup finals once in a generation. FWIW I was as gutted about the Brighton result as any recent result I can think of. But it’s the job of the people running the club to see the bigger picture in terms of the short, medium and long term. Whether they’re actually doing a good job remains to be seen of course.

We need to spend huge amounts in the summer, hang onto all the dead wood indefinitely and still avoid the Anderson / Minteh situation again. Or something

Not really. You reckon Kelly’s was a deal worth turning down or he’d have likely made much difference? We’re hamstrung by PSR which had greatly restricted our ability to build a resilient squad quickly. That’s all. The money is absolute nothing to our owners.

It always was cheaper in the winter as there’s obviously a lot less people taking their cars over to Europe for their hols, so they’ve got a lot of excess space, hence the offers. Good that you had that extra time there though. I think I’ve been 5 times and I would go back. It’s a beautiful place. The other thing with the winter crossings, apart from the aforementioned charvas, is there’s a canny chance of it being a stormy crossing. The first time we were coming back it was a force 10 gale as we left the harbour at Ijmuiden and there were already a few people green at the gills position at doors next to the decks as seasickness began to take effect

You not remember the urban myth? Or you do and I’ve been whooshed?

The last couple of weeks must’ve confused the fuck out of the thick cunts Tbf

You just reminded me of this:

They’ll just appoint some more judges

No

It’s fairly common to sustain an injury in the other leg after recovery from an injury.

Bobby McFerry, if you will. No wonder he killed himself

I’ve been on the ferry twice. The first time was ok. It was fucking years ago but it was a trip organised by Civil Service Sports and Social Club back when I had a short stint working there in the 90s. But it was a night on the ferry there and back plus two nights actually in a hotel (or ‘botel’, the floating one near the central station). if you do the one where you only have the day in Amsterdam it’s basically just people getting wrecked. I did that the second time and there were a few of us and it was a laugh but you’re not going to see enough of Amsterdam so what’s the point? The other thing is they check your baggage and confiscate drink. And the drinks on board are extortionate. Then there’s the hilariously bad outdated entertainment. But mainly the other passengers

They fucking love pinball machines as well Seriously though, if you go again fly. It’s a short hop over as opposed to 14 hours with charvas who’ve had too much weed / drink / coke etc

Re: Hall and Gordon, it’ll probably force us down the 3 at the back route with Trippier and Livramento as wingbacks. It might represent our best chance of winning anyway, playing like that. Trippier will be far less exposed there and Tino is comfortable playing on that side. Clutching at straws perhaps but given how good LFC are this season I think it was always going to be a case of ‘it was written in the stars’ were we to win. There have been far bigger upsets in cup finals. I’ll temper that slightly by admitting I fully expect a comfortable win for the opposition

Will definitely try and catch up but do remind me and my senior memory. With regards to pubs I’ll probably be watching the horror show at my dad’s but I’ve heard mention of a few local type places where you can book a table for this. How that might actually play out on the day and what they might make of a Teutonic interloper is another matter.

Going to see Autechre in Newcastle in November. Last gig I went to like this was Orbital, pre-COVID, and I was one of the youngest people there

Yeah, that was always my argument with the knackers ( even amongst our own fans) who went on about his being a great business man and how all clubs should be ran within their means etc. But that is incredible and really lays bare his dereliction of duty and lack of vision. I.e. save money by hardly employing anyone on the commercial side of things.

Saw that the other day

Agree it’s somewhere we need to strengthen but it’s less of a priority. Could argue Joelinton, Murphy, Osula and Barnes can cover the wing positions. I’ve pretty much written off Barnes beyond being a super sub but still. I’d be disappointed if we didn’t get a first teamer at both RW and RCB this summer though.

I’ve barely seen it, because I’ve pretty much instantly switched off. It’s more the idea of it in the context of the times. Not that I’ve cared about it in terms of who wins etc since I was a kid pretty much

Harsh on Livramento imo. It’s not long since he looked a much better prospect than Hall. He’s young, been in and out the team and has played both fullback positions in a side where you never quite know what you’re going to get. I agree in central defence. I think, until we get a pacy replace for Schar the better option would be to play three there, especially with Botman back. It negates the lack of pace because one naturally drops deeper and sweeps. Murphy has been very good but his performance at the weekend was similar to Willock’s. Where their style clashed with the possession football Tonali and Bruno were looking to play. He’ll never be too class because he doesn’t have the composure or touch. But he’s more than decent at this level as he’s fast, direct, hard working and has better end product than he’s given credit for. I thought Gordon was shite v Brighton but he’s a very good player. It’s fucking hard playing the full match week in week out with his style too. And if he’s coasting through games due to that at times, he looks half the player. You’ve nailed it with the squad but see the previous point re Gordon. On the last point, if you mean Miley, he’s definitely capable of slotting into the possession based style of play the Joelinton/Tonali/Bruno midfield can play. I thought he was quiet v Brighton but, ironically he’d have been great imo with extra space of 10 v 10 with Bruno/Tonali

Btw, it’s bad enough at the best of times but what a particularly vomit inducing spectacle this years Oscars are