Alph

I'm fuming. 

That was virtually the same performance but with the right hand to the body thrown in. It took to round 9 for him to actually grab Usyk and rag him about. 

Started slow and allowed Usyk to feel him out. Why?

Trainer (Fernandes) told him he's winning every round at the end of round 5. Why?

Worked for between 1m and 1m 30 of most rounds and then took a break for the rest. Why?

At the start of round 7 someone in his corner said "this is the round". No, round 1 was the round. By round 7 one of you should be fecked. 

The implosion at the end... He actually thought he was winning? 

Now last time his trainers took the blame. And they were s**** again. He chose Garcia and did nothing that he couldn't have figured out on his own. 

Did he really go to Mexico to be told to throw a right hand more. That's what they came up with. Punch slightly more with the right hand? Genius. 

Anyway, credit to Usyk. Once again when he's under pressure and hurting he fights harder and faster. He didn't really have to change much though did he?

Wonderful fighter. Insane energy, speed, combos, height changing, footwork like a dancer... Just a beast. We all knew that. What we know that AJ doesn't is that if you punch him in the nuts, hold his head down and punch it then he starts to look flustered. 

Luckily for Usyk it only happened to like three times in 36 minutes. 

A hard fight made harder. Klitschko would alter gloves, canvas, room temps. Mike Tyson would bite. Lewis would rake cuts. Fury will use his head, his palms etc. 

Joshua just doesn't get dirty. Bless him though. I like the guy and I think it's tragic the amount of hate he gets. He's bloody good. He's just not going to be the best of his era. A great fighter. Hope he has good people around him. 

Usyk is a good champion. Very classy guy. Good role model for the sport. 

37 minutes ago, 86 Hair Islands said:

I do wonder how many of the name-callers have ever had the balls to climb in a ring themselves. Likewise how many would call AJ a bum to his face, rather than from the safety of their armchair. Equally, it'd be nice to see AJ boxing in the UK rather than taking the Arab cash if he wants to build rapport. he can't be short of a few quid and choosing the destination that pays him most is rather shortchanging his UK fanbase.

As for the fight, I think your analysis is spot on. AJ can win this but he has to smother Usyk and ensure that his size and weight advantage are used to maximum effect. I once thought AJ had a proper nasty side to him, but I'm not so sure anymore. Fact his, he's not going to outbox Usyk so he needs to make the fight as uncomfortable as possible for the Ukranian. If Usyk is allowed time and space to find his rhythm, this could be another long night for AJ.

Judging from his interviews and his reactions to certain things I think AJ has lost his love for the general public. The fickle nature and criticism has been too much I think. He bites a lot more. That situation with the students shows how the general public/Joshua relationship has gone. 

Even so far as what some of the guys at Sky have had to say. He really has had it from all angles.

Hopefully tonight he can silence them all again. 

For a street thug with an asbo from Watford you would think that nastiness would never leave him. But I agree completely. He's lost his edge.

Maybe all the hate will turn back the clock?

I'm shocked at the level of hate he gets. He gets absolutely hammered nowadays. 

I like Usyk but I hope AJ absolutely nails him. Just to shut up keyboard warriors and people that think it's ok to call him a bum, hype job etc etc. 

People that think you're only good if your undefeated. 

If I had to bet I'd bet on Usyk since Usyk doesn't have to adapt and AJ has no secrets in this fight. He's far far to clean of a fighter. He's terrible in the clinch. He has too much to change and Usyk has to change very little. 

I always thought AJ's problems were

 1) listening to Tyson Fury saying he can't box and move. Thus trying to make statements. 

2) becoming a huge huge money draw and unified champion. Made him more defensive. More focused on landing perfect shots, applies less pressure etc. And the Ruiz fights seemed to support the idea that he's got to be a boxer. I'd hoped Pulev showed him that he's not. But then he goes out to box Usyk. 

I'm praying he comes out, pushed the rules, hold onto Usyk. Grab him, hold him, lean on him, tie him up, get ugly. Then fire away whenever he's inside. Treat it as a 6/8 rounder. 

He's gotta be like a crap team Vs Man City. Spoil the game and rely on set pieces. He's too clean though 

If AJ wins there will be millions of gutted Brits. Typical

Deserving. West Ham look just as crap

Still aiming for that 8th spot?

Brilliant. 

Lot of pressure on them for multiple reasons. 

Very enjoyable tournament and very likable team. 

Not just won the tournament have they. That's probably the third most important thing about this. Bravo. Inspirational stuff

On 29/07/2022 at 11:23, NottmRAM said:

Women's football is what the men's game used to be and what it should be now. The Women's game is not making any multi millionaires. These ladies are in the sport for the love of the game - which is why they give 100%.

I have a daughter who plays football. The girls game at U9s, U10s, U11s, U12s etc is just as good as the boys and sometimes better. My daughter plays in the Nottingham girls and Ladies league for a team that beat Forest girls 9-3!

My Son plays in the YEL. Notts County girls play in that league and regularly hammer the boys.

Women's football is predominantly watched by girls and the families of those girls. I have been to several WSL matches and I have always enjoyed them. My daughter much prefers to watch the Women's game.

We have tickets at Wembley on Sunday for the Euro final and it will be a cracking day out for the family.

Enjoy mate! 

My two girls aren't into football but I know grass roots football scratches an itch that sofa Champions League football never could. 

Must be great for your daughter seeing Wembley packed for a womens game. If England could win it then I think and hope it will inspire girls all over the country to take up football if they're feeling a bit unsure or maybe never previously interested before. 

Have a good day

I feel more confident v Germany than if it was France. 

I thought France looked very good. 

The worst dive I've seen came from a German who seems to like throwing herself to the floor a bit. So I hope after praising the women's game for its honesty and decency that the final isn't ruined by a Germany win from a dirty dive. 

Sorry, I mean "clever play" where they have "the right to go down because there was contact". 

Can't wait. C'mon England

That's a shame isn't it. But he seems to be just turning up nowadays.

I still miss Raikkonen. Vettel's dry humour was needed!! 

Half the time men don't even hold the right body part that's "injured" at first. 

Anyone see the potential ankle breaker in the England game the other day?

Straight over the top of the ball and down on the ankle. Nobody surrounded the ref, no dramatic scream, no 10 man "brawl".

She just got up, accepted the free kick and apology, rubbed her ankle and jogged on. 

There is no excuse for the men. They're fecking pathetic. Absolutely pathetic. There's more injuries in football than Rugby, Hockey(it's full of little sore welts) and anything else. Imagine a combat sport where one guy keeps appealing to the ref feigning low blows and illegal elbows every two minutes. 

I've no doubt the women's game will get there when there's more money and greed in the game. But right now they're playing for fun and you can tell. 

18 hours ago, Mucker1884 said:

Just settled down to watch my first ever women's footy... and saw a cracking goal within the first 2mins of me tuning in!  ⚽

Is it always this exciting?

 

Did you miss the diving, crying, time wasting and referee harassing that comes with real man's football? 

Apart from the odd throw it's just constant relentless football

1 hour ago, BramcoteRam84 said:

Just heard Joe Worrall on talksport. He’s more deluded than some of the weapons on Twitter. Were you surprised when you signed Jesse Lingard, Worrall replies with something to the effect of - we’re a club that’s had several international players, players like Stuart Pearce, Des Walker, Peter Shilton, international icons, we should be signing players of that Calibre to get back to where we belong.

Joe's time machine works!!!

1 hour ago, Rammy03 said:

Can't wait till it all comes crashing down ?

Top 8 he said! 

Top bloody 8!! 

2 hours ago, BaaLocks said:

It's not quite that simple though is it? We have evidence that is beyond deniable that our climate is changing so the simple question that faces us now (and it is not a question, sadly, that you and I can answer) is "knowing all of this, do we want to do anything about it - recognising it will likely impact significantly the way we all live our lives?"

And this is where I do have some sympathy with Extinction Rebellion - as I see it they are trying to shake us up and give us the shock we need to actually do something about it. If we don't then it does look like we will leave a planet behind for our descendants that will struggle to support us all in the way we live today - with all the consequences that will bring. I could get all aloof and snotty and ask if it really worth the extra HD television, skiing holiday, third car for the weekend and other things that many might consider unnecessary given the likely impact. But, as said earlier, we (nearly) all think what we do is necessary - I travel up to see Derby on the train, I will buy a new car in the next couple of years, I leave the lights on sometimes and forget.

Again, either we (the human race) do something about it or we don't - and every evidence suggests that the collective view of humanity today is that the new television is worth it, our kids can figure out the mess, we don't really need polar bears anyway. Extinction Rebellion are simply trying to force the discussion, given that forty years of trying to do it via conventional routes has had pretty much no impact.

I'm very confident that doing things like this has the opposite effect of raising awareness or support. 

It does the opposite. It makes them look like the kind of attention seeking maniacs that spread conspiracy theories online all day. The Area51 the government are keeping aliens secret types. 

That's what they achieve. Turning something valid into something people will look at, shake their heads, call them loons and move on. 

They're not inspiring us or opening up conversations. They're creating barriers. 

A bit like the "if you're not anti racist then you're racist/ silence is violence" type stuff with BLM. 

Alienating people you want to win over is bizarre tactic which could lead us into the debates we had with Putin being pure evil or having valid concerns. 

You just can't alienate people and expect their understanding 

Now they've smashed that window I'm much more interested in what they have to say. 

In fact I refuse to listen to anybody who doesn't vandalise buildings and glue themselves to stuff. 

Like when the insulate Britain lot were holding up motorways I couldn't understand why people weren't getting out their cars and listening to these guys. 

The year is 2130. Derby fans traveling to Mars for their pre season tour are still singing about a Stan Collymore? Apparently he was a footballer but there's no other mention of him in history books. 

I assume they already have to pay to use indicators?

Is there any such thing as a free Ubisoft or EA game. Aren't they all full of micros

Man Utd shirt looks clumsy

1 hour ago, ketteringram said:

You say that, as though men's football isn't. 

And particularly certain competitons that you're told you and everyone else cares about because it's thrilling. 

Give me England women v Norway women over Man United v Liverpool. 

6-0. Nearly HT

4-0 not even HT. One sided

And I have to say Entertainment beats quality. 

Gimme end to end nonsense over a tactical masterclass 0-0 draw any day. 

The pitch and goals are too big which don't help. You get soft goals and really weird shapes/angles/openings that you wouldn't expect to see. 

But every women's match I've seen has been two teams playing to their limit. 

No "let's take 6 minutes per throw and settle for a draw" from the first minute 

On 09/07/2022 at 18:30, Van der MoodHoover said:

The BBC threads are full of mainly blokes criticising the quality and people arguing that you shouldn't compare with the mens game. 

It's a different type of game but enjoyable nonetheless and played in a decent spirit. 

I did see for the first time the waving of an imaginary card. 

Blokes may criticise the quality but ffs they better not dare say anything like its a man's game when women's football contains less bitching, crying and whining in a whole tournament than your average men's game. 

I think it's great. Odd moment of petty behaviour but you get loads of actual ball in play

Another race track delivers an exciting race. Some great racing