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Can we drop the fans who boo the opposition's national anthem. Thanks

It would always be BBC for me regardless of who the pundits are, just for no adverts…

This is where premier league should give efl clubs money and not expect it back. Ok everyone's lost out in the awful pandemic but all the TV money that gets thrown about makes the richer, richer and see lesser clubs struggle and even some go out of business. Look at Bury. Such a shame the premier league is so greedy.

What would actually be wrong with that? I do the same with boxing. Occasionally get excited enough by a big fight when Eddie Hearn has turned the hype machine up to max setting, usually heavyweights, and make a night of watching the boxing. But I don't tune in to watch a featherweight Lonsdale belt scrap at York Hall between Bob the taxi driver from Bristol and Jimbo the coke dealer from Glasgow on a Wednesday night. So I'm an armchair / occasional boxing fan like most of the people who fill the Matchroom coffers. Think most of us can confess to dipping in and out of different sports or interests other than football?

Sign the petition.😀 https://action.labour.org.uk/page/86118/petition/1?locale=en-GB

Always makes me groan when people say 'Pukki isn't the quickest' like they've never seen him play. His game is running onto through balls FFS of course he has pace!

I think it would be better to compare this seasons squad against last time we were in the EPL and not last seasons. Are we stronger than we were 2 seasons ago

And Davitt again today, in his considered overview of where the club is at in terms of transfers: ‘But with those fresh fitness concerns [about Pukki], allied to the gruelling workload he has carried in recent seasons, Farke will know he needs alternatives to ease the pressure and cope with any absences to the main man. Adam Idah is expected to step up and start to justify the faith Farke has in the Republic of Ireland international. But there is also the possibility of enticing fresh firepower in what remains of this transfer window.’ That said, I take the points Bethnal has made about finance in particular, and how it seems hard to bankroll big-money transfers for the key targets of a CDM and a central defender, and also then a central striker. The trouble is there are so many imponderables. Was the kitty (post Gibson and Giannoulis and pre-Buendia sale) the EDP’s £15m or Bailey’s £20m-£30m? How much of the Buendia money do we get to spend? Could we get one of these targets on loan and so afford all three. And what if we sell Aarons? Does that make big-money transfer moves for all three financially feasible? The other question is whether we have enough cover in Idah and Rashica anyway. That certainly seemed to be the steer Davitt and Freezer were getting, until recently. But there has been a bit of a shift there. Both in terms of how much (or how much longer) Pukki can be relied upon and the linked question of how adequate might the replacements be. I don’t take Hugill’s possible departure very seriously either way (apart from it freeing up a wage). He never seemed to be included in the list of stand-ins or replacements for Pukki. But Idah and Rashica (the latter not mentioned by Davitt there) were definitely name-checked, and in a positive way. For Idah it would be a significant step up from OK Championship striker to the same level or better in the Premier League. What if that faith from Farke that Davitt mentions is misplaced? As to Rashica, I take Bethnal’s point that he has played as a central striker, albeit one who moves wide a great deal, but there is a big difference between that in a frontline of one or two others, and the extremely demanding multi-task role of a lone central striker that Pukki has fulfilled. I don’t know, but my suspicion is that Rashica would struggle with that in the Premier League. Of course, we could alter the system, not least, for example, if we signed Billing and used him as an advanced midfielder providing a central goal threat, with Rashica and Cantwell or Dowell or whoever flitting around. But if our default system is the one we have been using then the cover for Pukki looks problematic. Of course it will all come down to money. But one possible scenario, if Webber and Farke are starting to think they need better Pukki cover, that would potentially provide better balance to the squad and be affordable, would be to sell Aarons, find a reasonably cheap replacement, and use at least some of what is left over on a striker for the longer term.

That, I'm afraid, is a dangerous myth. Vaccines are a better protection against the delta variant than previous infection.

Yes, it's not seasonal if you don't count the seasonal factors.

There isn't really much of a ball to play is there? It'll just be all the hits in varying orders... 'waah waah waah woke people waah waah elites waah waah take back control waah waah did you know the ****'s were actually socialists waah waah.' I'll pass.

Mmmm, who to believe? Liz Truss: Today the UK signed the most advanced trade deal that Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein have ever agreed This will: Slash tariffs & support jobs Boost a trading relationship worth £21.6 bn Cut red tape, making it easier for firms to export across borders The Prime Minister of Norway: “A free trade agreement means more bureaucracy and added costs for businesses and citizens, and is less dynamic than what we have in the EEA.” Erna Solberg, Prime Minister of Norway.

I see Tory central office has sent out its minions.😀

I’m sorry to say, but if you write that without a very large dollop of trolling sarcasm, you are either tragically ill-informed, or willfully ignorant.

Was reading the whole thread waiting and waiting for the ‘reasonable voice’ type poster to wade in and then straighten things out with the most supported comment, but it never came. Instead a couple of weak attempts to dig at the aggressors which fall on deaf ears and the overriding hatred and disillusionment is clearly all there is. Is the Qatar World Cup a reason to hate on England? Do these fans want England to pull out and that’s the only way to justify the knee-taking? I think more fans (including minorities and our minority players) would be upset at us not participating in a major tournament than they would be happy to boycott the World Cup in Qatar. Didn’t Southgate reiterate the only reason the players took the knee was in show of solidarity for all of the racist abuse being received by our black players? This isn’t ‘made up’ institutional racism or white privilege, it is very real abuse that our minority players are being subjected to week in week out. Why can’t they just accept that without making giant leaps to Marxism and what not? They’re literally the only ones doing making the connection here, no one else is. I cannot fathom how people can find the knee-taking THAT much of a strain on their lives, it’s three seconds of time to watch them. Most of the time I barely notice it happen. But I guess they already boycotted football decades ago though when football got ‘political’ with the poppy wearing and war tributes etc anyway so… oh what were they saying about hypocrisy again?

You're the only one then.

You know, I actually prefer it if the racists don't watch and enjoy the success. It sure beats the alternative which is to embolden their sense of extreme nationalism.

Every little helps! 😂

Considering this is the season where we’re supposed to establish ourselves, or at least do our damndest to stay up (within NCFC reason), then going into it with a squad which is not markedly better than - let alone on par with - the prior season will be a huge disappointment. The absence of Skipp and Buendia is a huge loss too, easily our best and second best players from the championship team. So clearly we are still somewhat short at this stage, I would expect another 2/3 good signings to improve our starting 11 at the very very least. And even then it would be difficult to tell if we were actually better off or not, I think we will struggle to see any signing individually doing better than Skipp or Emi from last season, but maybe we can be better as a team overall once the season starts? I think if we’d kept Buendia and Skipp, then you could much more easily look at the squad pre season and said ‘yes we’re better off now’, but without those two everything gets thrown totally up in there air.

We're certainly two players down, namely a centre-half and a centre-midfielder, and possibly a back-up striker. However, we did have a rather large squad that could use a bit of a trim so I'm not worried there. From what's coming in snippets it looks like Farke seems Idah and Omobamidele could be looking like they are making a leap. @Capt. Pants has noted his concern about how little Idah played, but he missed a lot with an ankle injury and a couple of other niggles. On top, if Pukki's consistently scoring, he's going to be consistently starting. I'm not the only one who said Hernandez was our best player in Project Restart as being pushed back, it gave us space for a counter-attacking player. The problem we had was we had little pace throughout the team so Hernandez was often on his own waiting for others to catch up. Now Rashica looks like he's got plenty of speed on him and is aggressive with his dribbling. So, him, Pukki and one of Hernandez/Placheta should be a very fast counter-attacking unit and by definition, a counter means there's more space to run into. I would be surprised if they're not up in Farke's thoughts as a Plan B which could be easy enough to implement. We just didn't see it much last season as we spent most of it on the front foot in possession against massed defences, which negates sheer pace. That's a key reason why, IMO, you didn't see the best of Hernandez and Placheta. Ultra-quick players by definition are hindered when in tight spaces. We haven't seen Sorensen in his best position much, but I very much suspect he's getting readied as Farke would have known Skipp is out until August, not to mention wouldn't know if he's got Skipp on loan or not. I've got a gut instinct that he just might kick on to become a real first-team presence in the midfield next season if he stays fully fit. In terms of individual talent, I'd say we're slightly down. But I can see where a more functional team can be made with a couple of judicious additions.

The italian squad are at their training HQ just outside Florence and are flying to London tomorrow.

Well where are they?

Just had a quick Google, and it looks like two technicians working for Rai in London (the Italian state broadcaster) have tested positive. The players are unaffected.

I'd definitely rather have Skipp and Buendia than Gilmour and Rashica. Not because the latter two are necessarily inferior, but because we know that Skipp and Buendia were excellent for us in the system that we play. Gilmour and Rashica could slot in seamlessly or be even better, but we won't know that until a few weeks into the season. Obviously it's far too early to judge the squad as a whole, as there will no doubt be a few more incomings as well as some more outgoings before the window closes.

In a similar manner to the LibDems and Farage they were caught out by the hubris of little parties when they get a sniff of power. They lacked the poitical acumen required to manage the long term outcomes and were easily bought in the short term.

Why is it insulting?

I don't think we're as bad as Italy but then I don't think any team in this tournament is. One soft penalty is not equivalent to the 20 minutes of pure cynicism we saw v Belgium.

It's very obviously the human factors which dominate - its how we live (inside/outside) and what WE do through the seasons. The virus itself doesn't care. It really a definition of what seasonal means.

I understand that the referee for Sunday will be carrying 3 cards in his pocket....A Red, a Yellow and an Equity card for the Italian squad - as they'll no doubt be theatrically falling to the playing surface like they're auditioning to be extras for the beach assault scenes in 'Saving Private Ryan'.....

BBC for me but just to be clear i am not a Leftie. 😜

I think most EFL clubs took out short term loans during the pandemic to see them through, so we're going to see lots of club in serious financial difficulties when it comes to paying these back. Many clubs were struggling even before these loans.

It is either 'take a knee' or have their social media standing trashed by wokemongering Twitter trolls. It's as simple as that.

Apologies for carrying this on but it has been explained simply and succinctly why our footballers are taking the knee to make it really easy to understand yet people are still coming up with utter nonsense like above. You simply don't want to understand and it's sad to see fellow countrymen showing willful ignorance.

Boris is an active follower of the game

On the contrary unfortunately. Premier League clubs are looking to swipe lower leagues talented players at a discounted rate. They aren't looking to help anybody out. They're thinking how can this work for us. Sadly this philosophy will not change. The attempt at a European super League during a pandemic exposes the mindset. This isn't going away ever. Have to live with it and survive, those that can.

If I've read that article right, Hull aren't in "deep, deep trouble" and have been able to reject bids for players since they were promoted.

Diving for a penalty suggests no contact. There is clearly contact from 2 defenders which is why VAR couldn’t overrule. It’s not a clear and obvious mistake to award a penalty. Italian defenders will not relish the challenge of a Sterling at speed in the penalty area👍 https://vm.tiktok.com/ZMdXUqLFw/

Anthems then @TheGunnShow(there was a brief discussion on the football side of the forum). A selection of three here and difficult to choose versions but chose ones with the lyrics (Cerys Matthews included as an extra its a personal favourite and others may like her voice too). Extra version:

I’m sorry but that is just nonsense. The minimum wage is just that, it’s supposed to be the minimum amount a full time worker needs to be able to live. It’s not supposed to be set at a high enough level that all jobs are basically paid the same. In my opinion it’s too low but that’s another argument. Its’s an employers job to attract staff to their business, so if offering the minimum wage isn’t enticing people to work for them then they need to offer better pay and conditions. If that means their costs rise more than they are able to raise their prices then they don’t have a viable business to begin with, so they’ll fail and their share of the market will go to a more efficiently run competitor. For years the working class have complained that being able to import workers from abroad has kept wage costs down for business. Now that industry is largely shut off from that pool of cheap labour they’re complaining that their wage costs are going to rise, and you’re painting this is a bad thing?

...from the Eden project to the Canvey Island...🎶

Retrospective, and harsh banning. Same with any form of cheating that the cameras may spot. Credit for coming up with your alternatives there but they’re not for me. They just sound very “American”. Sorry, I’m probably not supposed to say that but I’m sure most people will know what I mean.

I know, it's almost as if they're being a set of opportunistic w-ankers again, right?

Funny thing is that it seem to me that's its your arguments always to open up over the last 15 months that have been twisted & flexible. My position has been quite straightforward throughout, changing and updating slightly with new verifiable information and no wishful thinking which has bedeviled these pages and sadly this government in particular. Treat the virus with the respect it clearly deserves (128,000 deaths to date) and not to needlessly and unethically sacrifice either the vulnerable, elderly or the young for some ill-defined 'greater good' or ideology. However, for reasons that escape you I have always had the the highest confidence in our (and other) vaccines and our scientific and technical ability to control this virus and end the pandemic. However I also know their weaknesses and limits. Much, if not all of the choices made to date by politicians have not been 'following the science' but following the politics first and the science only when all other options have failed. I see no reason to continue this discussion

I think that it is because the right wing racists that boo think that they have lost out due to immigration, because they have no other explanation of why their right wing policies have not benefitted them individually.

You are joking! there were hundreds, if not thousands at every match booing their own team for taking the knee. Many Tory MPs supported this and some said that they would refuse to watch England because they took an anti-racism stance. If you are a patriot, you don't boo your own country before the game evens starts!

I'm going to go out on a limb here and take this to a different level from what you'd expect to find on a football forum... When you attach any kind of emotional investment to something like 22 men running round in a field, that can only lead to feeling underwhelmed and a bit flat when you wake up the next day to realise that nothing has actually changed. The same is true for any of the many other vacuous things that we all do in pursuit of happiness: drinking, gambling, buying new things etc. It's ultimately because there's nothing actually really fulfilling about it. We haven't personally achieved anything. The anticipation is always greater than the outcome. There are some positive things that can come out of it: if you're sharing the experience with friends or family (even strangers on the Internet) then it can help you to feel connected to other people. On a bigger scale it can help to bring larger groups of people together around a common feeling of excitement. In the end, it's worth appreciating it for what it is rather than what you thought it would be. I watched it with my girls and we'll now always have it as a memory of being together. That's worth more to me than anything to do with the overpaid players or the moronic pundits fawning over them on TV.

I also enjoyed Gary Neville taking a swipe at Johnson post match.

It is funny now seeing all the right-wingers now pretending to be patriotic after spending months booing the national team! 😃 They'll all soon be saying that they liked Gareth all along and that he should be given a knighthood (unless we lose of course.)

"Deep woke" ??! Jesus Christ these people......