Blastronaut

Slim to none, he would be ideal in the short to middle term though and still worth pursuing since he's still hated by Everton fans and there rumours of there being a rift between him and his bosses. He's already got a tune out of a lot of these players that are now deemed not up to scratch and undoubtedly has a checklist of "why I didn't see eye to eye with Ashley and what needs to be prioritised".

The response to that Super League debacle really reminded me of the repeated rumours over the years that Rangers and Celtic were plotting to join the English leagues. Like then I'm just surprised there wasn't more of a collective effort from the rest of the league to just wave them off with a chorus of "See we you later, hope the door doesn't hit you on the way out". Shows how much money rules the game these days, opposition fans and owners relying on this small clique to keep their teams solvent.

ifwhiteamericatoldthetruthforonedayitsworldwouldfallapart

Nice one @Tom . Adam Buxton levels of daft but still poignant enough to remind me I need to drop in to see my pensioner aged mate that still cuts about in Sonic Youth t-shirts and really likes his speed.

He'll be alright, until he's not. Either way he's no longer your problem.

Surely needs to be pretty high up on the list of priorities when looking for a new manager. Bruce was a nice guy and had playing experience at the highest level but it's fair to assume his parents weren't into their homing pigeons.

I walk by his parents house on the way to my preferred local boozer pretty regularly. His dad's well into homing pigeons.

Would at least get the players motivated and take the edge off the "nasty House of Saud" narrative. That was my logic. He's no world beater but would surely arrive with a fairly solid short term plan. Should be able to consolidate and attract some better players, and would be easy to fuck over in June without much fanfare. Long term he'd be a liability though.

I'll concede you've convinced me on Martinez. Actually agree he's underperformed with Belgium too. 2.5% though. That's like going from draught Guinness to Nigerian Guinness. Not really sessionable but a readily available short term quick fix. I still reckon he could a be more useful short term appointment than someone like Eddie Howe like. Even just in terms of the type of player he could attract.

That's fair like, didn't realise Martinez record was so poor. Was he not heavily touted for the Liverpool job in the run up them hiring Klopp? Sure I remember spouting my usual "don't read too much into the betting" patter when it was Martinez and Villas-Boas the favourites.

That's me showing empathy rather than taking a cheap dig btw. Ive definitely said "I'd put in a good word for you but it'll probably do more harm than good" more than once.

"It was a great place to work until they hired me!"

Might as well try to get Big Dunc as well if that's the plan. Fully expect there will be a shorter term option and then a bigger name brought in once the ship's been steadied and they can be lured in with the promise of proper transfer window and full preseason. Martinez might not be a terrible shout as a stopgap and he's likely looking for a route out of the Belgium job (that squad probably won't last to the next Euros) and in the short term I reckon he'd get youse organised and motivated enough to avoid relegation. Plus he's so far up his own arse he'd probably fancy himself to change opinions and land the job for the long term. I don't fucking rate him as an elite level manager, but he's nowt like Bruce which might be what's needed in the short term to turn things around. Given Celtic just wasted about 6 months trying to negotiate with Howe, can't see him being worth the time or effort for a stopgap and the other names all seem to be more suited to long term projects when really this appointment really just to be "keep us up, help us attract a quality fullback or two, get these cunts performing and we'll pay you off in June".

Well said. Respected by both halfs of Glasgow which is really something given how dominant his Rangers team were in the 90's. Did more to try and bridge the divide than any any other old firm manager I can think of. Took no pish from journalists either:

If it's a choice between that or Crufts I'm at Quiffs mum's house.

Aye. For fear of sounding like a broken record, bookies these days have no investment in predicting the outcome of these (or any) markets. Last I looked even discounting the top three heavy favourites there was still a healthy overround in their favour.

That sounds more like Crufts man but if I'm being honest, quiffs idea of a good night out probably has more going for it.

It's where folk like quiff hang around lay-bys hoping to meet horny lorry drivers.

Totally acceptable in my book. When I see that I assume the drivers thinking "if I can go half a mile an hour faster I might get back home tonight and not have to sleep in this fucking thing again in a layby 5 miles from my house"

Never been much into cars, bikes or trucks but always weirdly quite liked the idea of long distance lorry driving. Looks like as good a time as any to get into it like, plenty companies seemingly desperate for drivers which (in theory) should lead to deservedly improved working conditions over some time. Not for me like, but fucking hats off to anyone working or wanting to get into that game. Not meaning to be partronising here, just from everyone Ive known in that industry it seems more a fairly solitary way of life rather than just a job.

How the fuck did this spiral from the perfectly reasonably observation that "Patrick Vieira is starting to look like Howard from the Halifax"?

I'd never heard of this bellend before today but his name's appeared quite a bit in the last few hours. Allegedly started his YouTube commentary with "I just hope we finish the game with 11 men on the park and give a good account ourself". On the back of that I'm almost tempted to watch it again with his commentary.

Still hate Chelsea tbf, but it's got fuck all to do with their owners and everything to do with their fanbase. Other than that I agree entirely.

What a fine example of a multicultural community.

I've probably said this before but anytime Bruce spouted pish about retaining his dignity I always thought of Rafa's time at Chelsea. Understood why he was hated, took the abuse on the chin and got on with the job with minimal fuss. Probably even changed a few folks opinions of him in the process for the better. The mad cunts gone and done it again too taking that Everton job. For all Ashley's failings, letting Rafa walk for Bruce is right up there. Telling that Rafa was rumoured to be the new owners favoured choice.