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All Aboard!!!!! 3-2 to us.

I knew I recognised him from somewhere

All seasons go down in history tbf

Except you have the additional load of games and subsequent player demands without anywhere near the amount of remuneration and winning it is not as easy as you make it sound. Of the prize money in the European competitions 75% is apportioned to the Champions League, 17% to Europa and 8% to Conference League. Winning the Europa League nets you a tidy sum; ballpark €13m on top of the equal share and value pillar, the latter of which is based off European coefficient/ranking (teams with little or no European football in the preceding years receive a smaller percentage of this stream compared to clubs with frequent European football). The bigger prize from winning is qualifications to the Champions League. If you want to get an understanding of how much difference the 'value pillar' makes to revenue for clubs in the champions league the best comparison is us versus Man Utd from 23/24. We were both knocked out in the group stages. Our results were better in the group stage; 1W, 2D, 3L compared to their 1W, 1D, 4L so our performance based income was higher. They received €60m, we received €34m. Further ingrained monopolisation of the top financial positions of football clubs. Man United's total prize money from the Europa League this season will probably end up being more than ours from the Champion's League and that's before you even consider how if they win it they'll be in the Champion's League next season. Victory in the Europa League final is a HUGE get out of free jail card to (at this stage) one of Tottenham or Man Utd. As well as the bonus of winning it's effectively a minimum €60m additional revenue next season PLUS additional ticket sales, corporate revenue and sponsorship etc. If they progress beyond the group stages that base €60m could be upwards of €100m. It would be amazing if they both somehow didn't win it.

I know we all want to qualify for the CL but I’m 56 and this the best season I have ever witnessed. No matter what happens from here on in this season will go down in history for me.

56? Mate I thought you were at least in your late 60s early 70s with your crack. Nay offence

Juve 1-0 up. Not sure the fans will be that happy looking at this!

Pope. Perfectly timed his pretend injury.

I'd be starting Miley over Willock in the next match. He just looks off the pace

Countdown til @Howmanheyman loses his shit over Liverpool coverage

Just (genuinely) had a look to see if there was a BBC Archive account on Bluesky. Apparently there is:

That of course makes Gemmill CT’s bitch, as anyone with even a passing interest in this forum would have worked out more than a decade ago

There’s a brand-new pop-up just opened this week in Wideopen. it’s called Therapists or something very similar, only serves wild rabbit.

Aye, it’s been a real disappointment of a season.

If the roles were reversed and we did this, I guarantee there'd have been a 10 minute discussion about it on Sky's coverage. Fuck all will get said though cos a) it's Liverpool and b) it's helped one of their favourites.

I think we’ve been the better side. Unfortunate to be losing. Just lacking a bit of penetration

Hahaha wtf was that? Fucking mong foot.

We’re gonna have to go mackem and fuck these seagulls. or something

We’ve won a trophy anyway and we need CL to keep progressing. Europa league would be a decent consolation but it’s not going to help much in terms of the club kicking on. The other thing is it allows another team to progress at our expense

CT IS Craig Hope. It all makes sense now.

Just seen the score, fucking Scouse - it means more - cunts. I didn't fancy a result going our way at 'the bridge' at all today so zero surprise here. I'm sure there was hell on a few years ago with a side resting their players where they actually got fined, (wolves?) but obviously there'll be fuck all said in this case. I'd have took a point today but really wanted the three as a buffer, we'll be absolutely fucked if we get beat by those cheating, cockney shithouses next week. Nothing less than a win because if we're lethargic against arsenal it's Europa for us next season.

We absolutely have to beat Chelsea

Game would have been different if Pawson had given Wieffer the stone wall second booking.

Pretty bad body language as well. Throwing his arms up in frustration about poor passes by team mates when his own passing as well as decision making was rather frustrating.

We never get anything at Brighton and things really didn’t fall for us so I’ll take that all day Awful game, they should have been down to ten men like. How VAR can spend ages on the penalty claims but miss an obvious red card that was AT LEAST a yellow is beyond me.

Would have been criminal if they got away with another one but fuck me, Craig Pawson. He referees like he’s never seen a game of football before

I would have taken a point before the game but thought we were the better team and would have won if we’d been a bit more clinical. Pope barely touched the ball all game

Gemmilled it!

Do you never get tired of being wrong?

Wonder why Brighton are quickly making a sub. Can’t be because he should have been sent off

Well that’s fucked now as you bought it up.

and Isak, get that cunt off

I don't really know what Minteh was up to. It looked like initially he was performatively not celebrating his goal. I assume that got short shift from the away end cos he quickly switched to weirdly hostile sign language for "I prefer being trophyless and mid table, thank you all the same".

Pawson doing the usual trick of completely abandoning any consistency from one minute to the next. Gave us everything and now swung to giving them everything. He’s fucking woeful, man

We're not playing well but we're still plenty in the game. These have done fuck all other than their goal.

Brighton are scintillating to watch, it's like turning the clock back to the glitz and glam of Roger's 2011 Swansea.

This actually bothers me nowadays. Spend 2 months shifting 3 Kg of lumber, then wreck it over the course of a week on holiday! I'm on "holiday" in Glasgow today, for family reasons. Just realised it's the old firm game. Fuck sticks, hope these knackers don't stray into the West End.

What actually also put me off is the food was superb last year so I ate about 3x more than I needed to. Had a similar experience on a 12 night med cruise about 15 years ago where I walked loads (there was a stop at a port almost every day) went to the gym every morning plus sometimes in the afternoon and still put on about a stone

It's great to be having this discussion at this stage of a season. Even better with a fresh trophy in our cabinet.

Bad run of form to end what has still been their best season since they won a trophy* and they all fuck off for the lap of appreciation or whatever it’s called. *our last relegation which is essentially the same thing

Gemmill lives there, his cat keeps killing rabbits, I’ll let you work out the rest

I don't think anyones going to argue that the money side of the CL vs the europa league. But Holden is right, we'd go into a europa league campaign as one of the favourites to win the competition and that would be a lot of fun. I've said not so long since that it would be a disappointment at this stage because CL qualification is very much in our hands so late in the season. But when we were actually in the competition next season it would be a right laugh. its moot anyway because we are going to qualify for the Champions League.

“You… can… not UNDERESTIMATE the SIGNIFICANCE and the MAGNITUDE of these next 4 games and the DIFFERENCE between being a Champions League club and a Europa league club will have on its future’! Craig Hope confirming I am right as usual.

This Liverpool side is hopefully still strong enough to get something against Chelsea. With any luck it works in our favour that he's resting some of the paggered lads.

This is an insane game. Brighton have done absolutely nothing apart from the goal.

The substitution, I think, supports our views that it was a second yellow. Joke.

Aye it's the stuff of Toontastic legend that I sprained my ankle 1.5km into a 5km run, and still finished the run. @thebrokendollstill talks about it to this day.

Not saying it’s a long term concern but I think Miley perhaps lacks the athleticism Howe wants atm. I.e. in terms of getting around the pitch. I think it’s an aspect of his game that will improve with time. Long term he’s a better fit than Willock for the more possession based midfield we’ve become (when the best 3 are available). I agree with Gloom that it’s a tad unfair to write Willock off.

Strong rumours that Celine Dion is going to make an Olympics-style guest appearance at this year's contest, which gives me an excuse to post this magnificent photo from when she won it in Dublin in 1988.