Alph

Massive do or die for AJ. That would be instantly back to the world scene or 3 defeats in a row. Firmly planted as "best of the rest" 

Knowing Fury though it's much more likely a message to Usyk saying look, I can fight AJ and make a fortune. He said "I'll select another opponent if you're not ready". He said he's looking to fight in the next couple of months. 

It seemed very much a 'i don't need you' dig at Usyk. Designed to make Usyk chase him, give a better offer etc.

I imagine the offer he will put to AJ if AJ is actually interested will be to fight exclusive to BT, with a 70 or 80% split. Something he can't accept. 

Nigel Pearson. Just seeing his name is irritating. 

Gets more credit than Ranieri

Sainz is such a diva. Demanding 4 tyres on his pit stop. 

Even Perez thinks Ferrari only need 3

Toto on why not pit Hamilton "because then we definitley finish 2nd and 3rd"

Toto on why not leave both out "because then both cars at risk"

Toto on why not pit both and let them both chase Max "Red Bull couldn't be caught on those fresh tyres"

.... Ok, so if point 3 is true then why is point 1 valid. You didn't want to settle for second or third but chose a tactic that cemented 2nd but left Hamilton exposed to Ferraris. 

2nd and 3rd sounds better than 2nd and 4th. 

Ferrari are amazing. So inventive. They're going to come 3rd aren't they?

3 hours ago, I am Ram said:

Me either, this is where they should be protesting, the upper echelons of society, the hypocrites. Not the hard working folk.

Good point. 

Now they've glued themselves to stuff they'll definitely be taken seriously

As for the YouTubers. I'm not sure they're good for anything never mind boxing. 

They seem like the kind of social influencers like the Kardashians but to a different audience on a different platform. 

Impressionable kids think everything they do is cool/funny/smart. 

All bad for mental health.

4 hours ago, CodnorRam said:

I was cringing so bad at AJ's speech but i was absolutly pissing mesen cause USYK just stood there like the penguin from madagascar with no idea what joshua was saying 

At one stage he looked like he had to compose himself. Yeah the rest of the time he just looked like the rest of us I think!!

Eurgh 

I don't think there's anything interesting or creative about cladding. It just looks ugly and clumsy. 

On industrial estates fair enough. 

In city centres surrounded by heritage it's garish (is that the right word?)

I think the velodrome even stands ugly next to Pride Park. Like a luring spam can. 

Exeter has it right. It has all the more modern shopping bit but it's purposely kind of played down. Like they're not obtrusive, there's nothing to catch your eye. Just compliments the old. 

The Quad and Velodrome just shout for attention. Don't look at the old buildings. Look at me I'm designed by a 12 year old who loves star wars. I'm an architectural marvel. I'm made from everything you've thrown away. I'm all shiny and break all the rules. Why would you go to Bath? That's all old boring painful hand crafted nonsense. I'm a beautiful paint splash on a canvas in a modern art gallery. I won't be ignored. 

Dump. Grimsby would be better than Derby if it was in colour

Look either side of it. And look at the state of that. It's about as subtle and complimentary as Kenny Burns at a free buffet. 

2 hours ago, Turk Thrust said:

I went back to Derby for the first time in many, many years. I was born there and left when I was about 27. The shock of walking down St Peter’s Street to the Market Place with fresh eyes! Buildings in terrible state (look up from the shop fronts) and the once lovely cast iron railway bridge over Friargate was in a poor condition. True though there are some very attractive city centre parts especially round the Cathedral. I used to work in the local history unit of the Wardwick library for a few years and often took visitors on walking tours pointing out buildings with their history.

Yeah. 

Nothing is taken care of. You leave the shopping center and it's such a ran down dump. Listed buildings left abandoned. And they add something they think it cool and modern and it's just pure ugly like the Quad or Velodrome or that stupid fountain. 

They did the river gardens project with the bus station? Yeah. It's nothing. Nothing compliments the cultural heritage of Derby like stupid tin can buildings. 

Everything outside the shopping center is being left for dead. They don't move the scum bags on that hang around. But i saw them moving a street singer on the other week. Yeah, he's the problem. 

The Assembly rooms has been an eyesore forever. The good number of towering car parks give that Welcome to Coventry feel. 

Derby does nothing to emphasise it's character. I directly goes against it. 

In Alvaston they spent a fortune. Doing what? Introducing more traffic lights, changing a parking bit around so now it interferes with a bus stop and more lanes of traffic than it did before. And stuck some pieces of steel up with motivational quotes on (I think. I never see them)

There are nice parts of Derby. I'll agree with @Reggie Greenwoodon that. But they're left to ruin, age with no love shown their way. 

The love all goes to great recycled tin can buildings. I heard them celebrating the Quad on Radio Derby once. Why? It's ugly. There's Saddlergate, Cathedral, all the Courthouse bit and the Market Hall to celebrate and give some love to. And they celebrate that. "The design is so unique". But it's ugly. 

and that Velodrome. Oh my god. The giant Tuna can. 

there's no sense of complimenting the area. Just bang up some glass and metal. 

As rough as Notts is, it's better looking overall. 

Taught me nothing this. My Mrs still walks all over me

I realised during this thread I've never been to Leicester except to the football grounds. 

But I was saying I think Derby is a dump to a customer once and he was from Leicester saying Leicester is nicer but he prefers Notts. 

I always imagined Leicester to be worse than Derby and Notts. 

Middlesbrough is one of the worst places I can think of. 

2 hours ago, BaaLocks said:

Make yer mind up fella....

I'm a plasterer so I get around ?

I think Derby is a dump. Not Derbyshire but Derby is. 

I live in Alvaston btw so it's not snobbery. 

Quad ugly, velodrome ugly, city center very ugly, that fountain thing, Assembly rooms... 

I've been working in City Center and parts that used to have character are just either dead or patrolled by drunks or chavs. 

I work in places like Stoke and I think it's not massively different now. It used to be worse than Derby. 

I work in Notts and even the roughest areas I've been like Hyson Green have many nice buildings. And the actual city center is much nicer imo. 

Alvaston where I live... It's full of traffic, ugly buildings, boy racers, awful condition roads, traffic light central and HMO's. 

Definitley want to get away asap. 

Hey I want that fastest lap point. Let me just risk my position points. 

Still, last time he went for fastest lap like this he took a pit stop in a wall didn't he?

Her response should have been firstly, let's pray we never ever are in that position. To be in that position means diplomacy has utterly failed. Lines of communication are utterly broken and there are no other options. 

And secondly that it's hard to comprehend the massive loss to human and civilian life never mind the aftermath. 

But instead she's like I'll do what I have to. 

She's a feckin loon. 

People took her up on her saying go to Ukraine. They got captured. I think two of them are dead? 

She should shut up. Northern Ireland, Russia and France before she's even sat in the big chair. 

1 hour ago, Tamworthram said:

I don’t relish Truss as PM and I think her comment about Macron was clumsy to put it mildly but, she is (I hope) just saying certain things to appeal to the Tory leader electorate.
 

I wouldn’t read anything into this clip. She’s hardly likely to say she wouldn’t do it is she? She could have said it would also make her feel uncomfortable or sick (you’d like to think it would make any sane person feel sick to have to press the button if it came to it) but if she’d said it then she may have thought that was a sign of weakness and she’s not ready to be PM. I’m pretty certain that if he’d probed a bit further and said something like “I understand that you’re ready for that responsibility but how would you feel about having to press the the button?” then she would have expressed a bit more emotion.

I don’t think she’s stupid (as I say, clumsy maybe and playing to the audience a bit). You also have to take into account she is being presented with an extreme and devastating scenario that we all hope we never face and if, you listen carefully, she didn’t really answer the question (shock, horror). She pretty much said having to make that decision or give that order (under those specific circumstances) is an important decision for the PM and she’s ready for that responsibility.

I think clumsy is letting her off lightly. 

Just like Trump, her clumsy quotes will be used by enemies. They'll be damaging. As they already have been with Northern Ireland, Russia and France. 

If she's not stupid then those quotes aren't clumsy but they're her trying to appear strong, resolute and all the things she thinks a leader should be. 

If she isn't stupid then she says that firing nuclear weapons is something that shouldn't even be talked about in theory. 

Just like she shouldn't have clumsily told people to go to Ukraine. Just like she shouldn't have made vague threats about Nuclear weapons that provided Russia some headlines. 

Just like Donald drink bleach, build a wall, Jerusalem is capital of Israel Trump was unchecked when it came to opening his mouth. She's as bad.

We don't need someone clumsy in power while we have to rebuild relationships and have Russia and China acting aggressively. 

Yay capitalism.

16 hours ago, Chester40 said:

Having watched AJ/Usyk, I have to say I thought it was fairly dull.

Can't understand why AJ was so poor at applying pressure. Didn't use his size or physicality, just stood off and kept getting short punches slammed in his face and then swiping back at thin air.

First round or two were so much of a shadow boxing match it was untrue. Virtually nothing happened, except expend energy, I can't understand how he thought it would translate to him winning later on.

Toe-curling antics at the end. No idea why he threw the belts out of the ring but it looked incredibly petulant. Compounded it by making the weirdest speech ever, was out of control with no one in his camp able to say 'no' to him. 

Usyk looked so awkward I felt awful for him. It was like watching your drunk Dad doing a speech at your 18th birthday and saying how nice looking all the young girls were, cringe!

Surrounded by yes men. There's a great interview with Peter Fury somewhere. Now I don't think Peter would coach AJ and I don't even think he is the right fit for anyone needing to be a pressure fighter. 

But he's spot on about AJ's mentality. 

He's really lost his way. Too much money, pressure, people. Even now I bet nobody has told him he did pretty much the exact same as the first fight. 

He's a money printer for all these guys. You can come back AJ, you'll learn AJ, he's got 500 amateur fights AJ, you did amazing to compete with that experience AJ, you lost by split decision AJ. 

He KO'd Pulev but before that it was Povetkin in 2018 apparently. 

It was Joseph Parker the fight before that where we first saw a Joshua that looked afraid to lose. He started badly Vs Povetkin.

I mean he could build up towards a Wilder fight and that would be great. Wilders back in October

1 hour ago, De22Ram said:

I watched it pissed n still aint seem it sober but firsr impressions thought it was an odd decidion! Had zhang winning altho i was up n out n didnt see full fight will rewatch!

It was the strangest fight Ive ever seen. Weird body language. I had Zhang too. Just

Anyone watch Zhang v Hrgovic?

2 minutes ago, De22Ram said:

Ive had a few beers, ill rewatch it tomoz sober but first impressions i thought he boxed ok! He ran out of gas! Could have done him in the 9th!

I think he just fought harder not smarter. 

Agree too on the 9th but that was all the more reason to start fast. Yes Usyk would be fresh. But so would AJ. Round 9 I think there was only one of them feeling the pace. That same pressure in the early rounds could have set a different time imo. 

I do agree AJ improved by the way. That performance beats all other heavyweights except Fury. 

It was just not the type of performance needed. It was pretty typical AJ style with slightly more speed and pace. 

He needed to brawl. Not execute the first fight but with added spice.

He'd have been better hiring Chisora or Fury ffs