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Il Pirata

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Everything posted by Il Pirata

  1. The issue (amongst many) with this membership scheme is that its a complete lottery. Tickets served on a first come, first served basis. For fairness, members who miss out on tickets this time should be given a greater chance come the next sale.
  2. True.. but look at last season. We often struggled without either Vrancic or Hernandez in the side.
  3. Farke has to hold his hands up tonight. It's tactically naive to go to the European champions and not adapt our approach. Our defensive play as a collective has been suicidal.
  4. Cant help but think it isn't our strongest side Farke has put out. Possibly our best prepared, but Vrancic, Leitner and Hernandez are big players for us and its a shame at least two of them are not starting. Hernandez as an outlet seemed a guarantee to start, but a big chance for Cantwell none the less.
  5. Surprised to see Jarod Bowen and Said Benrahma stay at Hull and Brentford respectively. Two very talented players I'd love to see here! Perhaps if we are doing well come January we can push the boat out a little.
  6. Anyone shed light on Mooy signing a new 3 year contract then immediately moving on loan to Brighton!? A common practice for younger players dropping down from bigger clubs, but seems a strange one in this instance?
  7. Exactly this. He has contacts, and probably very close to Webber. Contacts needed for his new role. Nothing to see here.
  8. Think Trybull looks good. I don't think he's given the ball away has he!?
  9. Legend... but hard work to listen to!
  10. I'd hope Leitner and either Hernandez or Roberts will start at Anfield. I do rate both Cantwell and Mclean.. I just can't see that they'll be effective in the PL. But more than happy to be proved wrong of course! Today's line-up lacks pace in the attacking areas. Well, the sort of pace Hernandez and Roberts can give anyway. Plenty of creativity mind.
  11. I quite like the 3rd strip and would purchase it. However that arm sponsor is absolutely hideous and ruins it for me. Same for the home and away shirts.
  12. Shame we didn't keep the Fluro green.. our record in that was pretty good last season! Can't get any more visible than that, perhaps it does work.....
  13. Not sure if this has been mentioned, McBurnie is on the verge of a £20 million move to Sheff Utd! Taking the money to one side, he's a good signing for them.
  14. I'm sorry, but even the most positive individual must concede that relying on Thompson to gain full fitness is a gamble. He's injury prone, and sadly looks set to continue. His last three comebacks have all ended in injury in a matter of minutes. We are short of powerful central midfield players. It's a concern this hasn't been addressed, but I'm sure it's not through lack of trying.
  15. Exactly. Steipermann had a lot to do with Pukki's success last season, and is the best fit for the number ten position. Buendia is better in tandem with either Hernandez or Roberts further wide. Without Steipermann in the attacking quartet we have zero physicality or direct outlet. Cantwell appears suited to the 'ten' position, but I'd still put Marco there for the reasons mentioned.
  16. Wonder why Steipermann didn't get a run out? I still play him in middle behind Pukki, ahead of both Cantwell and Buendia.
  17. Although I won't let allow myself to be concerned after a friendly, I do think we lack a couple of big, physical players, particularly in the middle of the park. Trybull, Leitner, Mclean, and Vrancic are all technically very good.. but they do get knocked off the ball easily and struggle to halt the opposition attacking at pace. We look extremely susceptible to the counter attack.
  18. I can't stand cricketers. They should be made to pay road tax.
  19. I'm not sure any of the other riders you first mention are GT contenders tbh. Perhaps Dunbar might make a decent mountain domestique, but by their nature they are much better suited to the spring classics and the smaller events. Pavel Sivakov is probably the one after Bernal with superior talent. It's been nice having a British team with British GT winners, but I don't see anyone coming through currently that will continue that trend. And team INEOS don't seem to have the same goals anymore. GT winning is the only goal... And Dave Brailsford seems to have a new obsession doing that with South American riders. Team Sky were very close to a sponsorship deal involving the Columbian government / businesses (sound legit, right!?) before INEOS moved in. As for the UK team, we have some very good riders. But it would be very difficult to have a sole UK team and compete. I think as stage racers, the Yates brothers are right up there with the best.
  20. It's as if you accidently stumbled into the thread....
  21. Is it really that much of a problem? Some people just love to whinge. Is there enough Norwich related football stories and content to sustain a vibrant and interactive message board at this time of the year? I'm not so sure.. let the message board evolve and grow naturally rather than shackle it.
  22. Factor in Carapaz too, the Giro winner! Its one heck of a roster.... but I can't see any of them leaving. Thomas is well payed and will get a shot at GC again, but possibly not in the tour. The only team capable of challenging Ineos in the Gt's is Jumbo Visma. Rumours are Tom Dumoulin is joing them too. And with Roglic and Kryswijk (sp), that's three GC contenders. With George Bennett, possibly four. So if Thomas left Ineos he'd only move himself further away from winning a GT - Unless he went to Jumbo Visma, which just isn't going to happen. Look at Richie Porte, I'm sure he wished he'd stayed now.
  23. Sadly you were correct. Still a brilliant TDF, but the finish was robbed of a famous GC battle. Having said that, what a delight to see such a humble young man in Bernal stand in yellow. A worthy champion. I was lucky (or unlucky) enough to be on the road for stage 19. I decided against going to the final climb at Tignes and ride up and over the I'seran to sit 1.5km from the top. The weather was crazy, although not particularly where we were. At an altitude of 2700m above sea level we enjoyed sunshine and temperatures of 25 plus degree until about an hour before the race cam through. The wind picked up and the sky threatened, but bar a few spits of rain and some thunder, nothing really happened. 30 mins after the riders passed, we descended back towards Tignes. The roads were completely dry down the I'seran until we got to Val D'isere at 1800m altitude. literally it was like someone had opened a freezer door in front of us. At an altitude of nearly 1000m lower than were we'd been, the temperature must have been 15-20 degrees cooler! As we progressed out of Val the road was empty apart from a few gendarmerie, and the evidence of snow! Through a few tunnels and with the Tignes dam in view, we encountered proper snow!! But only for like a sq KM max. But more than enough to make it dangerous to riders. We were shocked, as we rode up earlier in the day it must have been 30+ degrees here! The weather was so localised that literally it had changed within 100 metres, and it was just bad luck that it hit the parcours. At this point, we had no idea the race had been cancelled and assumed the race had gone on to finish at Tignes! As we passed Tignes and tried to decend to Bourg st Maurice where our car was parked, we were stopped and informed of a landslide blocking the road. At which point the heavens opened and we got a drenched. An hour or so later we were descending back to the car in biblical rain with chattering teeth! NEVER been so happy for heated car seats!!! We got back to our chalet and enjoyed some beer and pizza before watching the highlights in shock as we found out the races outcome. It was a pretty crazy day, but fortunately we made the right decision in terms of where to watch the race, and got to see the riders pass. But perhaps more fortunately, we avoided the bad weather whilst sat on Europe's highest mountain pass. Had we have got the snow, hail and cold temperatures, we could have been in a very difficult position on a very remote and exposed mountain. Vive Le Tour!
  24. Yeah that's the one, and a couple of other instances with Cancellara too. A sudden turn of pace during a TT, and another in Paris Roubaix. Definitely motor doping the allegation here. I've seen that Vuelta footage, basically the cranks appear to spin on there own after a crash. I've read explanations rubbishing the motor theory though. I think all bikes are X-rayed now, so pretty much impossible for anyone to get away with this, at least in the GTs and major races such as the spring classics. Did you see the bizarre incident recently with Roglic and his missing bike during the Giro? A reasonable explanation in the end, but just goes to show how much teams and riders are scrutinised and constantly having to defend themselves. Good looking stage today.. into the Pyrenees. I'll be leaving for France tomorrow in preparation for the Etape on Sunday! Wonder if they'll have x-ray machines there....
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