Renton

Yeah, the lion the witch and the wardrobe is a pure anaology of the Resurrection story. I think I saw that as a six year old, and pretty much planted the seed of me stopping belieiving in God as it begged more questions than it answered. Also, In the Last Battle, one of the main protagonists, Susan, literally goes to Hell because she became more intertested in lipstick and boys than Narnia and Aslan. I'll be honest, unlike Dahl, I think it is really quite offensive now. Talking of the Dahl censorship, fucking hell man! https://www.theguardian.com/books/2023/feb/18/roald-dahl-books-rewritten-to-remove-language-deemed-offensive

No fucking chance. The only thing I'd be confident in that situation would be my own impending myocardial infarction.

I only really watch us. There's been several occasions this calendar year where Pope has had to make a last minute intervention, usually with his head, well outside the box. Including just 5 minutes before his sending off. I'd say a mistake was always likely and that's what's happened here. It's a balance tjough isn't it? There's definitely been pros about it given how well we've done, but I think better teams maybe can exploit it too. It's my primary concern next week anyway, hopefully I'm wrong.

That goal by Rashford there, we're going have to be wary about letting ManU through the offside trap because of our high press next week. @Dr Gloom

Just think it's completely innocuous imo. Carragher is obviously a huge Liverpool fan and the issue there is Sky putting him on games covering Liverpool. Neville too, although I do have more time for him. Not sure what Dyer and Bellamy have done? They were certainly bell ends when they played for us but not sure since. Don Hutchinson was a cunt mind. As for mackems, I've said before in general I don't mind their explayers and managers. Phillipsy, Reidy, Defoey, Hendo, are alright by me. Obviously Pickford has made himself a prick by his own actions. But I enjoy taking the piss out of the fans themselves who are just on a different level to other fans in terms of bitterness and delusion.

I just care what he did for us a player tbh, he did well, and we got a fair amount in transferring him. I remember him being a committed professional, playing in a team run and managed by utter rabble. I accept Liverpool were and still are a bigger club, especially then, that who your spouse supports will impact on you as a foreigner, and he can mildly take the piss if he likes. He's a Liverpool fan now, that's fair enough imo. I'm not surprised either considering our ownership at the time.

What's the issue here? From what I can make out, he supports Liverpool first due to meeting his partner there and them treating him well when he got his cancer diagnosis. Remember how NUFC treated Guitierez btw? He says he want Liverpool to qualify for the CL at the expense of ManU, not us. Honestly don't see why this makes him a helmet, why people are so sensitive about it, and for that matter why anyone gives a fuck either way?

Maybe. I think it depends on the opposition. It didn't work against luverpool though, and I think we need to acknowledge that. We played better with 10 men with a more counter attacking style. I've still got complete faith in Howe to get it right next week like.

Over time I would say it's pretty likely like.

But the way we were playing made it inevitable.Harsh on the individual of course, but he had zero complaints iirc. Him and Howe knoew the rules before the game. We would be demanding a red card if the situation were reversed. I dunno, we were reckless when there was no need, Howe's first major tactical blunder for me. I think the lack of goals is getting to him, he needed to be more patient.

Btw, what did the match sound and look like on Sky? Because the speaker system ws compeletely fucked and spoilt the Bobby Robson tribute to some extent, and then they have introduced this drone camera thingy. It's on 4 wires from the corners and I initially at least found it incredibly distracting, especially as I had a wire directly in my line of sight.. You can see the wires below (the camera is about the size of a child, but blend into the background here, but very noticeable IRL). Seems to me another thing to fuck off match going fans to give those at home a better "experience". Bah, humbug.

He does though. I haven't yet watched the highlights but it was at least the third ocassion he had to come that far out his box and the outcome was almost inevitable eventually. For all our attacking flair in the opening 15 minutes, our defending was suicidal. If we do this agains ManU we will get the same result. Howe has to take some blame here.

I've reread all the books over the past 5 or so years. My main take is that they are in the main a bit shit, but still miles better than Wallams etc. The seqel to Charlie and Chocolate factory for instance is almost unreadaable now, not surprised its never been made into a film. Bit I did love that book as a kid with imagination. There is also definitely a whiff of mysogny running through some books like the Witches. However, Esio Trot is something else. Basically imagines the World as a sex pest's point of view. Really a bit disturbing getting into the head of Gemmill, but a great laugh nontheless. CS Lewis stuff must be next for the ban surely. The Last Battle is pure Islamophobic nonsense. Then there's Tolkein which is almost a white supremacist/eugenics manual. And I hear Harry Potter hates the LGTBIQA+ movement or something. Hard to keep us with kids nowadays, sometimes I just want to give up and join the ranks of Gemmill's Mam.

This is so sad. As someone points out on this thread, many celebrating in the crowd would also have died. 😢

I thought we'd win today. And yeah, we played very well with 10 men. I would have been more confident with Drubavka next week, but know nowt about our third choice keeper. Regardless, we've ran out of steam. I don't think top 4 is happening now. But if it does, that's now a massive bonus for me.

Whtly the fuck was Pope part of the high press though. I mean that's going a bit far.

Coming back from the match now. Twenty five catastrophic minutes. The only positive is that things didn't get worse following Pope's dismissal. I've reluctantly been dragged back to reality now, no expectations of silverware or CL football next year. In a way its a relief. I was getting way too stressed. Not now though.

And now. At least I don't have to lick CT's gusset.

I don't want to sound arsey about this, but I hate a minutes applause for this type of thing. A minutes silence is appropriate in this case as a mark of sorrow and respect. It's a true tragedy. A minutes applause should be reserved for a person who has lived a long, full life. Like Bobby Robson, 90 today. Mind I guess a minutes silence followed by applause today will be impossible to organise.

I've got a photograph of him with my daughter from an NUFC Xmas party, around 2018 I think. My wife attended this, not me, but apparently he was very canny (my daughter loved Matty Longstaff and has a great photo of him being photobombed by Sean, but thats another story). Feels horribly sad he was robbed of his life in this way. RIP Christian. Thoughts to your family.

My head and my heart don't want to see you dancing in Trafalgar Square next weekend no matter what happens. But otherwise a sensible post. But I wouldn't discount the psychological effect of the club winning something, it's always been the missing part of the jigsaw imo.

Me too. What's wrong with finger print recognition like. You touch the screen, it works. Someone else touches it, it doesn't. Mind I am occasionally woken up by one of rhe kids grabbing my hand and trying to unlock my phone for whatever reason in the morning.

I'll say one thing about Enrique, he improved more as a player than any I can remember, and that includes under Howe. I remember watching us at old Trafford where they honked us 6 nil, Ronaldo hat trick. It was like he was playing a different game that day, let alone a different level. Pure humiliation, but he metamorphosised into a fantastic player later on, as did Colo who was also dogshit to begin with. Fond memories of them both.

Fair enough, that's a canny few pink seats they've changed tbf.

I love this lad, always gives me a laugh. Unhinged.