kick it off

I can't justify 60 on them, but I will be piling on the rainbow and red variants in the january sale. The keeper kits are majestic. Outfield kit is nice but boring

Truss's seat about to declare, BBC saying they think shes lost it

It's well established that it's a matter of intellect with dear Swindo to be fair. Remember when he made up an Instagram model girlfriend and tried to pass it off legitimately? 🤣

At download this weekend. Highlight of Day 1 was unexpected. Busted were ****ing brilliant. Had an absolute blast. Also saw Funeral for a Friend, and escape the fate who were great. Wheatus are very much a 2 hit wonder band but little respect and teenage dirtbag went offffff. Also saw a guy wearing a Norwich shirt. Only football shirt I saw all day. Random. Seemed like a good dude from our brief convo 😂

Been aware of him for a few years - was brilliant at one stage in youth leagues but never been tested against real opposition. Has dropped off over the last few seasons and he isn't really a striker - more an aggressive number 10. Magic player to watch, one of those who just makes football look effortless.... in the youth leagues.... but whether he can cut it against real opposition is a total unknown. I'd love for us to bring him in and see though.

Saw Weezer and Smashing Pumpkins tonight. Weezer were so dull. One of the most boring bands I've ever seen. Smashing Pumpkins were unbelievably good. Billy Corgan just has an aura about him. They were phenomenal. Next stop - Download Festival next weekend 🙂

Recently been to see Ice Nine Kills who were amazing, but probably not many on here's cup of tea... Also saw The Dangerous Summer last week who are a bit more mainstream and accessible, who have just announced a UK tour, including a Norwich date. Met them too, and they're the nicest guys... Their recent stuff is class and theyve got a great back catalogue - I'll be seeing them in Notts in the autumn, but hopefully one or two of you ll check out the vids posted below and get yourself along to The Waterfront on September 27th - tickets on sale tomorrow and less than £20. 🙂 https://www.seetickets.com/event/the-dangerous-summer/waterfront-studio/3041465

That is such a niche reference. Banging film though. Gus Van Sant is an incredible director.

Alonso managed the Sociedad reserve team who play in a 2500 seat stadium, and had an average age of around 22/23. It's not a senior men's team objectively, more akin to managing an U21 or academy team. I don't think Cuesta will succeed because he's at Arsenal, I have no idea whether he would even succeed at all. I don't think I've seen anybody saying he will succeed. What I've seen people saying, and what I'm saying, is he's a gamble worth taking. The more you read about him, the more his character stands out as being exceptional. There's a reason he has got to where he is, at such a young age. He started coaching at 15 when he realised he wasn't going to make the standard he wanted as a footballer. He has scrapped, fought and hustled his way into a host of big clubs, blown people away at every single one of them, and is renowned as being tactcally astute and a fantastic communicator. Mourinho's trajectory was incredibly similar. Someone, somewhere will take a chance on him, it might as well be us - what do we have to lose? The key, Cuesta said, is to convince people completely of your idea. “It is about believing in an idea from day one,” he wrote. “Knowing how to convey it to the players and making them believe in it, infecting the fans with your enthusiasm, getting your players to play each game as if their lives depended on it, mastering the media to convey the message that you want and knowing how to manage the success of a team that is not used to it.” Yet for all his words learned and written, Cuesta needed a foot in the door. He searched every Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid coach he could find on Twitter and sent all of them the same message, each with the same sign-off. “If you need someone to put out the cones,” he wrote, “I’m here”. Nobody replied, except one, a youth team coach at Atletico Madrid, who invited Cuesta to help with the club’s under-9s before letting him take sole charge of the under-13s. Cuesta took the roles seriously. “We used to ask Carlos if he wanted to go out in Madrid and he would always say no, because he had a match in the morning,” says Estan Rodriguez, one of Cuesta’s closest friends. “We used to tease him that while we were out drinking, he was changing nappies, because the teams were so young. It was always serious for him, always a passion.”

By that logic, Xabi Alonso was also a poor shout for Leverkusen to be fair. Only ever managed youth teams at Real Madrid and Real Sociedad's B-team. Objectively, the most similar career path to Cuesta that I can think of, factoring in calibre of clubs and roles... would be Mourinho when Porto appointed him and we all know what happened there. Of course it's a lottery, like any manager hiring will be.... but I guess it depends on your appetite for risk. Cuesta is a boom or bust gamble. I'd throw the dice.

Sidenote but I saw Tom Clarke from the Enemy live a few months ago doing an acoustic set - not my vibe usually, but he was really good!

That song would sound iconic with 27,000 belting it out. The video the club have out together there is incredible. Proper goosebumps and encapsulates a total rollercoaster of a season. I ****ing love this club. COYFY.

Agree with much of what you say here - we won't contend this season, but we are finally trending in the right direction. Overhauled 60% of our roster this offseason and only re-signed I think 1 or 2 of our own Free Agents. Damning indictment on Rivera's judgement. the CB we took in the 2nd is going to play slot corner so size isn't a huge deal, he won't be playing outside - he was the leader/heart and soul of that Michigan Defense that won the national championship (and it was the Defense that won that championship, the O just had to be functional), and he was the best player on that defense by all accounts. Nick Saban (College football's answer to Jesus) called him "the best pound for pound football player in the entire draft". Saban knows college football better than anyone. Quan Martin, our 2nd round pick from last year is likely pencilled in as starter in the Slot anyway, so Sainristil should have some time to adjust, but he's one I like a lot and slot corner has been a problem for us for a while. Newton is a great pick for us. Hell of a player, and he elevates our Defense massively, purely because he can give Jon Allen and Daron Payne a break - both of them have played 75% or more snaps last season due to the lack of depth. They were noticeably getting gassed in the 4th quarter regularly. Adding an actual rotational piece rather than a backup there will really make a difference to the D. Peters said that he sees Sinnott filling the Kittle role at TE. We picked Ertz up on a cheap deal too so that's a great mentor in place. Be interested to see what they can do with him. The O-line is a glaring weak spot, I expect to see us pick up a veteran OT before the season starts, there's a few serviceable options out there... even so, it's clear we need a big overhaul there next season. Daniels frame is everyone's biggest worry. He could do with packing on a few pounds of muscle mass before the season. The messaging from the FO and coaches was "yeah he got hit a lot, but he always got back up. He's durable"... they also said he will need to work on avoiding the hits though, and he absolutely will.

**** YES.

What a day that was. Iconic game and genuinely one of my favourite days ever. Enjoy

The international streaming remains so the illegal streaming will also remain.

I picked my tickets up in October/Novemberish - Pumpkins are on my list of bands that I want to see but never have - saw Billy Corgan in the shortlived Zwan phase but never SP. If drumming is your thing, check out AJ Hale from Halestorm - that dude is unbelievable. Honestly, I was really looking forward to Ghost - not a huge fan of their music but had heard about their amazing stage show - I was hugely disappointed. Gave them half an hour but it was just boring so I left... Just about made it to the tent to see Coheed and Cambria play a few songs including Favour House Atlantic which I'd always wanted to see live, but yeah, Ghost were rubbish! Pretty much the only band that disappointed me over the whole weekend to be fair. Spillways was cool live, but the stage show/presence was non-existant.

Been to tonnes over the last few years (although I'd wager, not many on here will be on the same vibe!) Since May 2022, I have done: The Script x 2, Sheku Kanneh Mason x 2, My Chemical Romance + Funeral for a friend, Alterbridge + Halestorm, Liam Gallagher, Embrace x 2, Bon Iver, Papa Roach, Muse x 2, Blink 182, Bring me the Horizon + Bad Omens, Tom Clarke (from the Enemy) acoustic set, Corella, DMAs and Download 2023 where I watched: Ice Nine Kills, Bring me the Horizon, I Prevail, Disturbed, Ghost, Evanesence, Slipknot, Metallica x 2, Moionless in White, Asking Alexandria, Amity Affliction, Neck Deep, Bad Religion, Pendulum. Upcoming I have got: Smashing Pumpkins + Weezer Foo Fighters Liam Gallagher Leeds fest for a day (Taking my 7 year old to see Blink 182 for her first gig) Download fest - bought after last year but lineup is weak for my taste, so am going to sell the weekend tickets and just get a Sunday day ticket and a Slam Dunk ticket as there is much more for me doing it that way (Download - Limp Bizkit, Sum41's last UK festival show, The Used, Corey Taylor) (Slam Dunk: I Prevail, Asking Alexandria, You Me At Six last UK festival, the Dangerous Summer, Caskets, As December Falls, LS Dunes, Goldfinger, Red Jumpsuit Apparatus), Funeral for a friend (although they were awful supporting MCR in 2022), We the Kings, Head Automatica. I like music a lot. Of the gigs I've been to over last few years, highlights were Bon Iver who is just an unbelievable musician, Corella who are really up and coming, they're ace. DMAs who are excellent live, and Papa Roach who were awesome, and the whole of Download fest last year was bloody wonderful - every single band I saw killed it.... but Bring Me The Horizon are hands down the best live band I've ever seen, and I've seen ALOT of bands. They are on fire at the moment.

I know someone who taught him at GCSE and A-level (and his brother for that matter). She said he was a really nice, polite, decent kid. Seems like she was right. Class act.

I watched this game (I lived in Turkey a long time ago and adopted Fener as my Turkish team due to the nickname - don't watch them much anymore but was at a loose end yesterday). There was a big flashpoint in the 98th minute resulting in a mini brawl amongst the players, but the game was pretty bad termpered all the way through and Trabzon fans were throwing stuff every time a Fener player was within range. Turkish football is crazy, especially the Fener Gala derby. This one was one of my favourites as bat**** games go - 3 sent off AFTER full time whistle and Jailson running for his life as the entire Galatasaray squad tried to batter him. Video of the chase is here: https://www.thesun.co.uk/sport/football/7648121/roberto-soldado-galatasaray-fenerbahce-fight-video/ - Just needs the Benny Hill music.

Not in the episode from Thursday, think the UFO episode/s are quite old so might take some digging - I just had a brief look on google but couldn't find them, they definitely exist though

The "stuff you should know" podcast released an episode on Thursday; about the alien abduction phenomenon of the mid-20th century. Pretty much the same deal - mass hysteria due to media coverage and made for TV movies, and general bandwagonning. Died a death since everyone got camera phones. They've done UFOs on an episode before too.

Adam Peters is COOKING in DC. This is such a breath of fresh air. Eagles are having a really nice free agency too. The Cowboys though....😱 Dak on sexual assault charges too... When it rains, it pours.

General manager in most organisations has control over player personnel so makes the draft picks, free agent signings etc. He essentially builds the roster. It's basically the Stuart Webber role of the NFL world. Our coaching team is now put together. Not 100% sure what to make of it, as the up and coming young offensive coach (Ben Johnson) that everyone thought was locked in to be our next head coach bailed last minute amidst a swirl of rumours he'd interviewed badly etc. He decided to stay in his current role, so we hired Dan Quinn who had a fairly unsuccessful stint with the Atlanta Falcons (although he did take them to a superbowl where they blew a commanding lead), but he has spent 3 years since that being a Defensive Coordinator in Dallas and built one of the premier defenses in the league, and he is universally liked and respected around the league. I like the coordinators Quinn has hired though, he's brought Joe Whitt who worked under him in Dallas on board as the Defensive Co-ordinator and brought in Kliff Kingsbury as Offensive Co-ordinator, who has a knack of developing star Quarterbacks which is a good move seeing as we are defniitely picking a QB at number 2 in the draft. Kingsbury has just spent the last few years in the College game coaching Caleb Williams who is one of the best Quarterbacks in the upcoming draft so there is a lot of expectation we will draft him, although Chicago pick 1st and also need a QB - possible we may trade a pick or two to swap places with them so we can take him, there's been a lot of noise that if Chicago draft him, he will refuse to play for them and force a trade elsewhere (Eli Manning is the precedent for this). Time will tell though, theres a few good QBs in this draft. So all in all, interesting times in Washnigton right now.