The Fish

Fucking children. Quote ... Matheus França’s game is built around his intelligence. Through his movements, vision, awareness, and more, he is able to be very effective in the attack. Quote ...While playing as a centre-forward or attacking midfielder, Matheus will find gaps within the defensive organisation to receive the ball before progressing it further. Quote Just as in earlier stages, Matheus is very effective in the final third. His movement off the ball sees him attacking the depth and getting into dangerous areas. Whether as a centre-forward or an attacking midfielder, he will constantly look to get on the ball and make runs. Quote He is able to create chances both with and without the ball, being very intelligent with his movement and passing. While his awareness and technique allow him to create space and chances against lower blocks, he is also able to play in transition with his quick thinking and speed. Quote He is able to press very intelligently, angling his runs and often recovering the ball. Sounds a real prospect and would slot into the way we play, very well.

Man Utd could drop £100m on 'Arry and not even fucking blink.

Matheus França 2022 - scout report (totalfootballanalysis.com) Sounds a real prospect and would slot into the way we play, very well.

Ironically they're not allowed within 500yds of schools.

Hurts Brighton more than it helps Arsenal, in my honest opinion.

Had to google Daniel Neil. Picking a current first teamer, as a 'notable supporter' is fucking hilarious.

Plenty of scholars have argued about where Geordie comes from originally, but the point is what who it describes now. And now a 'Geordie' is someone from the area and/or someone who supports Newcastle. Imagine being so unsure of your own identity that you try to co-opt someone else's nickname, then reclaim an insult, then poll for a new nickname, then try to co-opt a nickname from your rivals, again. Don't see Smoggies go on like this, but that could be the industrial haar

There's a simple reason for that. Other people have opinions about Geordies, for good or ill, but nobody gives a fleeting thought to mackems, or to people from Sunderland. If they get to claim that they're Geordie then POW, they're not anonymous afterthoughts.

How do you think it would impact the strategy. Surely Eales and Ashworth were planning for a midtable/top half finish? All of the players they would have been scouting would be the kind to lift us from there, to challenging for Europe. Rather than pushing us as far into the CL competition as possible, right? If it were me, I'd not really change plans that much. Keep looking for players that match Isak, Bruno, Botman's profile. Rather than someone like Harry Kane. If we finish in the CL, I'd honestly view it as a route to the UEFA Cup. If we get out the group and overachieve beyond the knockout stages? Great, but we shouldn't start strutting around like we're ready for CL. Our back up right back is Javier Manquillo, Jacob Murphy still gets a stack of game time. Lets not get ahead of ourselves, is what I'm saying.

Deep Fried Mars Bars aren't easy on the old constitution.

It's not that we had £200m in the bank, just that we're allowed to make a loss over a 3yr period. If Ashley hadn't been so tight, we'd not have had as much wriggle room. Kind of like a time limited overdraft? I guess.

The latter. We've spent a lot of money in the last year, not just on fees but wages too. And nobody has gone out the door for any fee, and the wages we've lost haven't been massive (Muto, Atsu, Fernandez).

Thing is, getting a deal signed off by the Premier League just means that we have to persuade them it's a fair market value. Lets say we get into the Champions League, what's a fair market value for sponsoring the shirt of a Premier League team in the CL? Add to that the value of association with a club with apparently boundless ambition (and the resources to achieve that). This season the 'top 6' have between £40-£67m deals. It would make sense to get at least £30m, which would be a 500% increase. Then include the commercial partnerships that will surely follow. We did, couldn't have signed >£200m worth of talent without it.

Pope is class, but it's a huge step down to Karius or Gillespie. If Darlow and Dubravka leave we'd need a replacement substitute 'keeper.

Poor Mark Gillespie.

It's so easy to find out that's bollocks. Took me less than a minute to find these three pages that prove Steve Bruce played Joelinton as a central midfielder on exactly 1 occasion. Joelinton 2019-2020 Match Logs | FBref.com Joelinton 2020-2021 Match Logs | FBref.com Joelinton 2021-2022 Match Logs | FBref.com That was the 3-2 win over Southampton 06/02/21 where although FBREF has him as FW/CM/RW, the heatmap on Whoscored shows he played chiefly as a right sided winger. The confusion there is likely down to Joelinton replacing an injured Wilson in the 36th minute and then changing his position when Jeff Hendrick was sent off in the 50th minute. In every other fixture Joelinton was played as an isolated striker, or as a winger.

I've done the nerd thing and watched youtube tutorials on how to make the best coffee at home (I'd recommend Northstar coffee). The difference between instant and that is huge, but the difference between my stuff at home and the proper coffee shops is hugerer.

I find them a bit fiddly

Good coffee is lush. Instant coffee is bollocks, also loads of people don't seem to know how to make fresh coffee at home. Those Nespresso pods have been sitting around for fucking ages so won't taste as good either. Chain coffee shops are shit as well. Hate to say it, but the best coffee is from hipster coffee shops, where the lass behind the counter has half her head shaven, neck tattoos and a smile like a puckered arsehole.

Their issue is largely the defensive side of things. Not sure where Ben Mayhew gets his stats, but I've taken my stuff from FBREF which uses official Opta stats. I've got them as having an expected Goals Against value of 1.46 and they're conceding 1.39 goals a game on average. He seems to have them only giving up c1.25 xGA.

Should have called his son Ligma

The Eagles are not soaring.

Looks like Forest might be without Henderson for a while. Maybe they could buy Dubravka/Darlow?

Underrated joke

He fires them to safety, and they'll soon be on the Beech