Gaspode

Not sure I'm fussed one way or the other - after yet another in a long line of failures, I just find following England's fortunes to be far too depressing. Even yesterday, with what could well be our best chance of getting through to the final, I knew in my bones that it would all go horribly wrong...

If he stays - meh, if he goes - meh - my hopes have been dashed once too often to give a stuff....

4 minutes ago, BondJovi said:

My only real criticism of last night were the safe subs. Don't really see what benefit there was to taking Saka off, certainly not for Sterling. 

I agree on Maddison. Football seems to have a knack of creating heroes in these moments. It seemed set up for such a time. 

Must admit that my heart sank when I saw Sterling coming on - he's had a crap season for Chelsea, the issues at home and had only just got off the plane back to Quatar - hardly the player to choose when you need someone with a bit of magic - and when he got out on the wing with a couple of minutes to go and then turned away from goal, he just looked completely lost...It's one of the reasons people want Southgate out - he's so risk averse when the pressures on - would rather bring on a player he knows and trusts than take a risk on a maverick like Madison.

I can't criticise Southgate for the spirit he's instilled in this group of players, but they are so talented that there will always be the question of whether they could have done better with someone in charge with more nous of winning tournaments (or bigger balls). I've seen people saying how much better we are than 5 or 6 years ago - agree we are, but is that down to Southgate or is it a result of Greg Dykes' and the FA strategic plan that built St George's park, limited overseas players, and brought through the players who've already won age related competitions? I'm loath to praise the football authorities, but I do wonder if we'd have had at least as much success with a manager other than Southgate given the footballing riches he's been presented with....

Foden not offering much and Saka getting a reputation for looking for freekicks - both need to up their game in the 2nd half....

Fernandes is an obnoxious individual - for all his ability he simply can’t resist cheating in his way through every game 

Brilliant ?

I think the argument is that we're not (and won't be in the near future) in a position to replace the use of coal in steel manufacturing, so it's either open a new pit in an area that desperately needs the jobs or else continue to import at a higher price and with even more damage to the environment by bringing it in via big ships....

Seems a daft decision at first sight, but possibly the only answer without shutting down the steel manufaturing plants (which we'd then need to replace with imported steel) and at the cost of many, many thousands of jobs....

Not lyrics but the whole song: Paul Simon - Kodakchrome

Diana Ross - Upside Down - "Respectfully I say to thee, I'm aware that you're cheating" - evidently written in the 1800s....(or Yorkshire)

I’ll admit to pinching this from Twitter:

“Not many positives to take from this Switzerland performance but their flag is a big plus.”

ITV commentator getting right on my nerves - just before kick-off they were talking about Ronaldo being dropped and then he says “Anyway let’s not talk anymore about him” - and then proceeds to talk more about Ronaldo for the entire half…..

I'm far more offended by her using the phrase 'do the math' rather than 'do the maths' - just what do they teach young people at school nowadays?

.....Nine months before 2023 Rugby World Cup

4 minutes ago, Van der MoodHoover said:

Brazil looking quite handy vs South Korea. 

4-0 after 35 minutes

6 minutes ago, RadioactiveWaste said:

So, they have told the club "sign the lease or get out" then.

"We look forward to you accepting our terms Mr SISU...."

To be fair, they own the ground and the club needs to have signed a lease with them in order to play there (otherwise there could be all sorts of issues further down the line regarding rent payments etc) - if the club haven't signed the lease, why should they be allowed to stay?

I'm sure there are things in the background that we're not being made aware of, but the club needs a binding contract with the stadium owners - if they've not signed a deal that matched the previous terms (as the statement sets out) then it seems they were either negligent or else are trying to get a better deal - playing hardball with Mr Ashley is unlikely to end well.....

Had a brief gander at one of their forums - they’re quoting a sale price of £80M - for a club with minimal history of winning anything and a ramshackle stadium (normally half full of the most fickle fans in England)…if that’s really the price of any takeover then they may well die….

Just now, Gritstone Ram said:

Suicidal ball from Saka

He’s been pretty poor so far - not alone there though…

Prospective new owners have pulled out of the deal after failing to reach an agreement over the terms…..

18 minutes ago, Wolfie20 said:

Could be interesting when the final whistle blows

Xhaka really is a first-class muppet. At one point he grabbed his groin and made some sort of offensive comment to the Serbian bench which nearly triggered a mass brawl, then in added time he got into a shoving match with one of the Serbian defenders - again nearly causing a mass fight. Then, while the ref is showing him the yellow card for that, he’s ignoring the ref and mouthing off at Mitrovic. Could quite easily have got another card and missed the next game….

Did anyone tell Serbia that it was quite hot in Quatar? Their shirts seem to be made from bin bags - never seen such a sweaty team…..

Using the same calculator, type in the number 5318008 and then turn the display upside down - and have a nice day ?

1 hour ago, FindernRam said:

Add how old you are in years, add to the year of your birth 

I know you will get 2022!

only if you've already had your birthday this year.....

On 04/05/2022 at 17:18, 86 Hair Islands said:

Tokyo Vice - Ansel Elgort (Baby Driver) playing an American in Tokyo who upsets an applecart with his Western notions of investigative journalism, bringing himself firmly into conflict with a local crimelord. The ever-excellent Ken Watanabe supports. It's a really interesting show that provides a striking insight into the uneasy relationship between Japan's Yakuza clans and the authorities and Japanese sub-culture as a whole. It does meander a little at times, but definitely worth a watch. Hopefully season 2 is commisioned as season 1 only gets us halfway back to the beginning - this will make sense if you watch it! 

No idea where it's streaming as I stole it and I can't be arsed to look. Soz Moz.

Tokyo Vice being shown on the beeb at present - and available on iplayer. Only watched 3 episodes so far but really enjoying it….

Fleetwood Mac singer/ songwriter dies aged 79 - played on and wrote so many of the great songs…..

Poland seem happy to play for a draw - 10 men behind the ball for most of the game. It’s not exactly been a great game so far - though I suspect if the cameraman showed Messi picking his nose Danny Murphy would say it was the greatest thing he’d ever seen….

Plucky though weren’t they? - plucky little Wales….

Henderson is too negative if we’re trying to win the game -  keeps slowing everything down and passing backwards and sideways. Fine for the last 30 minutes if you’re trying to hold onto a lead, but sucking the energy out of the side at the moment….