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From the title of the thread I assumed Vince was giving us a sneak-preview into his auto-biography....

That's the spirit. PS: It's 'Premier', if you're going to be miserable, at least do it right.

Even for you @RTB that is a truly pathetic response - why, instead of spouting total rubbish about what might happen in the future, don't you spend a little time thinking/looking at the track record of the government we've actually had for the last nine years. Is that the only defence you have for Johnson's lies, laziness and general incompetence???? Because frankly you're whistling in the wind even to people like me who don't have much time for Corbyn - he's certainly no leader but as far as this country's future is concerned it would be a damn safer in his hands than a lying, fraudster such as Boris.

OK, so I'm not a binner but I do hate everything about the Premier League (and UEFA/FIFA) and if that's OK with everybody I'll stick to my opinion thanks, whether you all think it's wrong or not. I genuinely would rather there wasn't promotion and relegation to and from the Championship and would very happily never watch a Premier League match again, mainly because since the Premier League began it has sucked almost all the enjoyment from the game I used to love. The club which we managed to reconnect with after our last disastrous foray is already moving away from us again. That's much more important to me than being in the Premier League, watching puffed up prima donnas and waiting for some people near Heathrow to decide if it's a penalty or not; or going to matches at 2pm on a Sunday when most sensible people are still having a nice family lunch. If you started with a clean sheet of paper and designed a league structure in which to play our national sport do you think you'd design what we currently have? Money and TV have destroyed it, and our FA have allowed them to. The only downside to actually winning the Championship is that you then have to play in the god-awful Premier League for a season rather than being able to defend your title. We could sell those players who think they want to play in the PL so they can earn their millions of pounds a year for sitting on the bench or in the stands and support the new ones we bring in, just like we always have; and we can keep laughing at those multi-millionaires when they dive in the box or fail to qualify from their group again at the world cup. I suspect I am in a minority of one, but I am very happy that we'll probably be back in the Championship next year and I can't wait.

So here we have Ambassador Sondland admitting there was no quid pro quo, but something he himself made up. In fact Sondland admits that Trump specifically said he 'wanted nothing, no quid pro quo' And now the facts are out there this stupid impeachment attempt will collapse.

I think that Ray’s Funds is special. There’s something about it that elevates it far above the noise, it brings out the good in us and allows us to be part of something decent and purposeful. Truthfully I need the structure it brings to encourage me to do some small good, I might not really do things like it otherwise. It takes good people like Eddie to make it happen, to keep it happening, to give it momentum, voice and drive, not just for a day or a week or year, but for a decade. Fantastic. Thank you bud, well done 👍 Parma

Don't forget he played up front and in defence internationally too.

You forgot the free pasty.....looks like Corbyn has gone for broke😉

At least there hasn't been a prog rock revival, Barclay James Harvest et al , puke enducing, bombastic tripe. I suppose the closest we came to a revival was effing Marillion, glad that didn't last.

Don't get me started, Saint Bleeding Bono and Co drive me up the fecking wall. The whole lot of preaching turds can go to hell in a hand cart for all I care. I really do sort and recycle as much as possible and dont need any of those W⚓s to tell me what I should and shouldn't do. Didnt that pratt Chris Martin make his latest statement somewhere exotic....I bet he didnt cycle there., To$$er.

Always what if / if only... that’s Teresa May’s legacy now, and most of the British PM in the past 20 years. She could have got Brexit done, there is no doubt, but she caved to her right wing cabal rather than risk right wing blowback. And so here we are. And it will not get better any time soon. If Boris gets his majority the real Brexit work / damage will start soon enough i.e. multiple years of negotiations and uncertainty to follow, just like concluding you should get divorced, all the rancor will come out in the years ahead, but at least you can comfort yourself that you won’t have to sleep with that ***** again even if it costs you the house to do it. If there is no majority, all the rancor will come out as well but at least you”ll still have the house while you work out that maybe marriage councelling is not such a bad idea after all.

Before your time, young Nutty, but Terry Allcock filled in as a central defender when the sainted Watling was chairman...

All of that is true but whilst I don't really want to defend Labour (who have been the poorest opposition in living memory) I don't think they can reasonably be accused for opposition for the sake of it - they did stand on a manifesto commitment to implement Brexit but it was a completely different Brexit to Theresa May's hard Brexit and Boris Johnson's even harder Brexit and/or no deal Brexit. So they were fully entitled to oppose the Tory deals (as were the rest of the opposition) but if wasn't for Theresa May being an inflexible half-wit incapable of any compromise then we would be out by now. If she'd comprised over the Customs Union, which would have had the additional benefit of limiting the economic damage a bit, then we would now an ex-member of the EU. Labour may have been pretty useless for the last three years but they can't compete for sheer incompetence against the Tories, who let us not forget are the Government, had bought themselves a working majority and yet still couldn't get anything to work.

Those lies won't tell themselves

Don't think manifestos really have much significance nowadays, which is probably just as well as they're mostly full of s**t anyway!

The "relegation too far" comment resonates with me. I'm sure that if we go down then after a summer break I will get my mojo back and be ready to go again but post Watford and right at this moment I certainly feel a little bit "what's the point" about getting promoted at present. I think this is a slight risk the club needs to be aware of moving forward because a loss of enthusiasm/drive amongst the fan base would not be a good thing.

And Sunderland. And Forest - they’ve actually won (much more and better) stuff than the bin men, too.

Sadly, that is pretty obvious - same the world over when the far right get into power. Their only concern is staying there and keeping the rest of us toeing the line and doing what we're told is good for us 😟 Given the propaganda outlets at their disposal and a huge segment of gullible fools lapping it up, it's pretty hard to see where change for the better is going come from, if indeed it ever does. What a grim prospect, still at least those desperate to curb immigration look as though they will get their way - who on earth is going to want to come into this country in a couple of years time??

Spain for me please, and a home win Real Madrid v Real Sociedad For the City bet i think 1-1 and Pukki to score anytime. A tough weekend after the internationals so best of luck Parma and Swindon. Great words Parma regarding Ray's Funds and Eddie holding it all together season after season, amazing what a difference people can make when pull together, well done all. See you at Goodison ? OTBC

I did notice their run of unsuccessful derby games has continued when they were beaten by Colchester a week or two back, I only noticed it when I was checking some of the international results....Colchester is a much more natural derby fixture for them in so many ways

We've a history of working with teams in Finland. In the 80's we used to send players there to play as their season took place mainly in our summer. I also remember some of our school teams taking part in the Kokkola Cup each summer. I had the good fortune to spend some time in that area when the tournament was taking place, had a great time with some great people. Kippis!

Sondland unequivocally said YES, there was quid pro quo. Where on earth is RTB getting his news from?? Oh, Fox. Oh dear. 🤣

The answer is 'very'.

I struggle to reconcile this comment with your presence on this message board. 🤔

A true bunch of cnuts

Madness. According to reporting the players had grown sick of Pochettino for his overly aloof and disciplinarian attitude. How you rectify that with Mourinho is beyond me.

Trust me, it'll be a selection of our fans - the same one's that are all over this board like a rash when we lose, then disappear with victory. On a side-note i'm not sure footballers being on social media is a great thing. Private accounts to enjoy with their actual mates is great, but supposed 'fans' sending abuse every 10 seconds alongside our errm, older fanbase in particular wading through to find their partners instagram and plastering pictures all over the forum etc - none of that sounds ideal.

Bit harsh considering they got to the Champions League final. They've still finished in the top four for four seasons in a row, and considering they were never Champions League regulars pre-Pochettino, that's impressive. On the whole, Pochettino did an excellent job at Spurs. He turned an inconsistent team into Champions League regulars, promoted youth and played good football. His only black mark will be the failure to win a trophy. However, as Aggy said, they've been stagnating for a while as they haven't really changed the core of the side for a few years (which isn't Pochettino's fault) and it's finally caught up with them as they've slipped backwards this season. I'd argue that freshening up the playing squad was more needed that changing the coach, and that should've been done over the past 18 months or so, but obviously changing the coach is far quicker and easier. I'm sure Pochettino will find another top coaching gig somewhere and Spurs are now going to have a real job on their hands to find someone better. I hope it works out well for both parties though because I like Pochettino and Spurs are one of the more likeable 'big six' clubs.

Why is no-one surprised? Do a good job and it is forgotten in 12 games.

It is not only a question of change. It is a question of what you change from. Leeds start from Bates, Cellino, Radrizzani....so QSI is a wonderful step into great riches and ambition for them. We start from well-meaning, deeply-connected fans who love the club and want the best for it. They openly don’t have the funds to compete in the actualité of the Premier League, though in many ways they - in their purity of love and intention - are what many fans of other clubs would dream of. I used to live round the corner from Maine Road and that includes many Manchester City fans too by the way. A rich Delia is perfection of course. QSI is another compromise in a long list of small hop compromises that lead somewhere you may never intend (as criminal organisations all around the world know well). In many ways you have the Faustian bargain right here - Jack Barak speaks with decency - something pure that is unlikely to compete at the top level vs something rather impure and detached (‘sport-washing’ at best). Though purity can be evangelical and hold things back on angels-on-the-head-of-a-pin ideology, whilst if you believe in rehabilitation, then even ‘sport-washing’ is at least a ‘flagstone on the road to Democracy’. We start from an increasingly rare position of purity however. Once that is compromised it may not find its way back. ‘The second million is always honest’ as a wise Russian once told me. Parma

Apparently booze doesn't accelerate the ageing process as quickly as ciggies do......

You just did.

Was worth a gamble

https://www.edp24.co.uk/sport/norwich-city/big-break-paid-off-for-city-defender-zimmermann-1-5366863

Zimmermann - will take a lot of pressure off Godrey Zimmermann - means Amadou and or Tettey can strengthen our midfield Zimmermann - is loved by the fans and it will be a massive boost to have him back. Like a new signing.