TheDarkKnight

It's really not about money. It's about getting value. Andy Robertson cost Hull £2.9m and now he's holds the record for most assists as a full back in EPL history. The gulf only exists when unprepared clubs get promoted to the EPL. look at Brighton. They had a plan. They gutted the club of the old guard. They then employed people who had the exact same vision as the owner. They hired coaches, director of football, football analysts, scouts, etc, who all share the same ideals and for whom are all on the same page. Their scouting network is incredibly detailed. Their analytics are off the charts. This is why Brighton are now an established EPL club who have just beaten Ajax 0-2. "Fail to prepare, prepare to fail. The following is a comparison between Brighton and Manchester United's transfer spending since Brighton have been an EPL club: Brighton EPL net spending: 17/18: +£77.2m 18/19: -£63.7m 19/20: -£46.1m 20/21: -£25.6m 21/22: +£3.3m 22/23: +£71.3m 23/24: +£77.2m So, they've actually made a profit of £93.6m. Pool that with their TV money, etc, it's safe to say that they are loaded. Compare this with Manchester United's spending over the same period: Manchester United: 17/18: -£132.9 18/19: -£45.3 19/20: -£134.9 20/21: -£55.7 21/22: -£96.1 22/23: -£190.4 23/24: -£131.4 A loss of £786.7m

This guy just nailed it. The old clichéd narrative of "Scotland is subsidised by England" was only believed by morons and Daily Mail readers.

Anyone who weaponizes the term "Woke" should not be trusted. Post this in the Daily Mail comment section. They'll male you their king (or queen) Never knew Cruella Braverman was a Norwich fan.

Agreed. It's entitled and spoilt behaviour. Maguire is in the squad because Southgate trusts him. One of the biggest components in football is the relationship between a manager and their players. Southgate showing loyalty will squeeze more commitment put of his players. Phillips is in the squad because England are lacking when it comes to deep lying midfielders. It is what it is. That's why TAA is always listed as a midfielder.

I'd take it. Hell, I'd rather a civil war than status quo.

Also, and it's in relation to Norwich. Grant Hanley only started looked comfortable at international level playing in a three.

Yeah. Motta loves him. Ferguson is the vice captain. I would suspect that he might get a start or two against Georgia and Norway.

https://t.co/1wFTvoUnkl Shameful.

Yeah. And I disagree. If it affects the rest of society then let the UK government build affordable housing. Stopping homelessness isn't a case of sweeping them from one corner to the next. We both know that the UK government have billions in the kitty. There's no excuse for homelessness in the UK.

You're missing the point entirely. It's utterly disgusting and abhorrent that the PM has a personal fortune of £700m (include his family and it's £1billion+) and there are people sleeping rough. I also find it funny that the country has a bottomless pit for war, but their coffers are empty when it comes to helping these poor people to pursue a better life.

Yeah. Sounds more accurate. One up top and two number 10s? That's kinda what Scotland are morphing into. Ah. I see. (I was going to mention tonight's game. ) Yes. He was a worker and he was almost neat and tidy. I remember watching him way back when he was playing for Celtic's youth team. He was always the standout player. I just looked it up. He's still only 27! It's like he's been around forever. He did Well last season. I don't think it's too late for him. Ah. Lewis Ferguson. I watched the Lazio game (he scored). I'll be honest, I'm shocked that he's doing so well. Not to knock the lad, but I think it's more to do with the dropping of standards of Seria A than Ferguson being good. His brother (Derek) and uncle (Barry) were far better. I hope he proves me wrong, though. He's a good lad. Always turns up for Scotland even though he knows that he won't see much (or any) action.

It was pretty much a fluid 3 in attack wasn't it? I remember watching a few matches that season (I'm bad with years) and they just steamroller over teams. It was incredible to watch. It was the epitome of idealistic football. I wouldn't be surprised if that Atalanta team wasn't everyone's second team. Much like Brighton are. Lecce? Cool. Is that the season Liam Henderson played for Lecce? Still surprised that Henderson is uncapped.

https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2023/nov/04/plans-to-redefine-extremism-would-include-undermining-uk-values Suppose that makes me an extremist. Yikes.

If someone refuses a hostile or a shelter and closes to sleep in a tent then that would be their choice. However, it's severely stretching the meaning of the word "choose". It's like asking "Would you rather eat a **** sandwich or watch the Kardashians". Talk about Sophies Choice. I know that human beings love to claim land and draw borders, etc, however, people don't own Earth. People may pay taxes, etc, but essentially we're all created equal. If a person "chooses" to live in a tent outside, no one has the right to displace them.

Also, in Championship Manager 4 I won the SPL with Falkirk with a 3-5-2. (7 trophies in 3 seasons. Starting off in Division 1)

Yeah. I was about to mention Atalanta. It seemed like every week they were scoring 5 and 6 goals. It was astonishing. Did you ever watch them? They played with both centerbacks overlapping simultaneously with the wingback becoming inverted anchormen. It was awesome to watch. With Scotland it's like we were forced It to accommodate Robertson and Tierney, but it's not really. For the better part of 20 years we were so easy to play against. The defence was exposed to lack of numbers, both in midfield and defence. Steve Clarke just seems to be a really good manager. It took him to realize that Scott McTominay is an attacking midfielder. It's scary to think that so many managers have no idea what they're doing. He's played 200+ Manchester United matches in a position where he's not good at.

I used to love watching Seria A and seeing the sweeper system in all it's glory. (The back three is a variant of the sweeper system.) I grew up with it under Brown and I could see how effective it was. British football fans are obsessed with a back four. Even if your team is clearly being torn apart. And you're absolutely correct. A back three doesn't have to be negative. One variant is to push the wingback forward into wingers and spread the centerbacks wide, this general creates an attacking overload while maintaining a defensive foundation, particularly if you're playing with an anchorman. Then there's what Sheffield United done in their first season in the EPL, playing with overlapping centerbacks.

I grew up with Craig Brown playing with a back three. We qualified for Euro 96, France 98 and we should have qualified for the 2000 World Cup as we battered England in the playoffs. When Brown left and Berti Vogts came in he ripped up Craig Brow's blueprints that were so successful. He went to s back 4. For the next 20 years we failed to qualify for anything as Vogts, Smith, McLeish, Levein, McLeish (again) and Strachan stubbornly stuck with a back 4. Then Steve Came in. He got to the point where he switched to a back 3. Suddenly we qualified for Euro 20. Reaching the playoffs of WC 22 and now qualification for 24. I was calling for a return to a back 3 for 20 years. Only to face universal ridicule. I was right. Scotland haven't produced good enough centerbacks to accommodate a back 4 since the late 80s/early 90s. So, if you're leaking goals. If you're easy to play against, a back 3 is the only way to tighten up as it adds an extra body in defence. It naturally plugs a gap and it generally tightens things up in midfield.

Those are two fine choices right there. That Is not what she meant. She suggested that living rough was a lifestyle choice. For good measure she blamed immigrants. She was slammed by a senior Tory (Bob Blackman) for the comments. The facts are that there is a lack of affordable housing and shelters. Only a masochist would choose to sleep outside rather than in front of a roaring fire. Honestly, with some of the comments coming from the two main English political parties is as if neither of them want to be in government. Each day they come out with more and more extraordinary comments. It's like a "Spitting Image" skit or an episode of "South Park."

You honestly think they choose to be homeless? Just when I thought this UK government couldn't be more heartless, less empathetic and less human. How about we open up Buckingham Palace and all the spare houses owned by the Royal Family. Or the prime Minister could dip into his Billion family fortune to build a few more houses. Or, the Tories could go full Rudy Giuliani and kill the homeless.

Rather Draconian, but OK.

Even if the player who is in the offside position isn't involved in play? How about a player who is close to the far byline and he's down injured, completely far from the action?

The main issue for me is that one season it's different. One season a player is offside by the sleeve rule. Then it's daylight. Then it's a armpits. Next it'll be toenails and then a player be judged offside depending on the position their guardian angel in on the park. As far as the people who don't like delays. Are they in a rush? It's a football game, not a queue. Tennis fans, NFL fans, Basketball fans, etc, can take a few minutes out of their lives in order to make sure the officials make the right call. Football fans are precious. It's ironic. These same people waste 10s of hours per week on Twitter, etc. lolz

Fair enough. It's a game of opinions, etc. I would simply the rules. "If you touch the ball whilst in an offside position then it's offside." Unless is really blatant like a player jostling with the keeper. I don't blame the refs. People are calling for consistency from refs, but there's no consistency with the rules. The rules change very season.