Dr Gloom

never been to that end but chania and rethimno are both really picturesque. the area around the venetian old town in chania is beautiful. i've been to crete three times, the two best trips staying near almyrida or in kokkino chorio. the beaches are narrow and sandy, some of most beautiful crystal clear sea water i've ever swam in. the small villages are unspoilt, not too touristy and the tavernas serve great food. it's really family friendly, cheap with great hospitality. i loved it but haven't been for about a decade

nee way rashford is starting after the season he's had. not even southgate is that clueless. tbh, neither rashford nor graelish deserve to get a game ahead of gordon. he's the form player in that position. and unlike rashford he is happy and willing to cover either flank without spitting his dummy out

over

kefalonia is my favourite island. i haven't been to mainland greece other than athens, which is well worth visiting. parts of crete are also really beautiful - depends on what you're after. beach holiday? quiet family resort? island hopping?

yup, but they could also win some of them. and their final four all look winnable

yeah, i think we should be thinking about challenging for top 5/6 now, given our run in, our form and the players we have to come back. it may be that chelsea rise as spurs fall away. spurs have some minging fixtures and that palmer kid os on fire for chelsea

Chelsea could be our biggest challenge for top 5/6. They’re timing their run of form just right too

hey man, I should have read this latest post before I hit send on my previous reply. I am more than happy to leave it here

I condemn a lot of what you mentioned in the post above - the blockade of Gaza, the wall, the settlement expansion into the occupied territories, and the current bombing of innocent people and the blockage of aid into Gaza. I condemn Netanyahu and his awful supporters. I also condemn Hamas and theirs. The thing that keeps me awake isn’t the solidarity people feel for innocent Palestinians. I feel solidarity with them too. it is that there isn’t the same level of solidarity for innocent victims slaughtered in similar circumstances in Yemen or Ukraine or Syria, or for persecuted Muslims in China. There aren’t marches in London on the same scale for these other oppressed people because hatred of their “oppressors” isn’t as strong as the hatred people feel towards Jews. You say this online and you’re accused of playing the victim. Maybe we’re all paranoid after the Holocaust. I don’t know. I don’t throw antisemitism accusations around lightly - and I certainly don’t believe criticism of Israel is antisemitic - but people will say “typical jew playing the victim” on Twitter - and that’s at the less offensive end of what I’ve read. We’re talking about one of the most oppressed groups to ever walk the earth. Maybe we are a sensitive bunch. Jews were forced to flee from their homeland by the Romans, then persecuted across the lands they fled to, from the pogroms across Europe to the Holocaust. This is why the state of Israel matters so much to Jewish people. It is supposed to be a safe space for Jews. I’m not trying to defend the nationalists who want to annex Gaza (nor would I defend the clueless Palestinian supporters who chant “from the river to the sea”, which is why I could never join the London marches) but that’s why Israel’s right to exist is important to so many Jews and why we find the the language of hate towards the “Zionist entity” difficult to accept. Like you, I am also worried about the effects of Netanyahu’s leadership. The chances for a new peace process recede and antisemitism increases around the world as long as he is in power.

I hit send there Aimaad and almost instantly regretted it. I’ve tried to avoid posting too much in this thread because it is so divisive and emotive and because I still see it through my family’s eyes. Life in Gaza is hell right now and I’m not here to argue otherwise but little is made anymore of the fact that rockets continue to fall on Israel every day from Hamas and other militant groups. I know this because my family still cower in bomb shelters An anonymous football message is a strange platform to choose to get into it but I have to stay away from this story on Twitter. The antisemitism is too much for me, and I find the hate, and pile-ons too distressing. Like a lot of Jewish people I’m reluctant to make the case for Israel or Israelis to my friends either because, just like on this platform, I feel massively in the minority - you feel like a bad guy for trying to tell the other side of the story. Our leaders support Israel but a lot of progressive people who I agree with on most matters really fucking hate Israel and everything it stands for. It makes me wonder whether that would change if Israel ever elect a progressive leader again who wanted peace.

Hamas makes me sick to my stomach. Everything they stand for is deplorable. I don’t know if you also feel that way about them. I watched footage of people in Gaza cheering the news of the October 7 attacks in the immediate aftermath of the invasion. Desecrating corpses, celebrating rape, murder and barbaric beheadings. This is equally unhinged and bloodthirsty, I’m sure you’ll agree. Hamas still holds more than 130 hostages I feel the same way about Hamas as I do about Netanyahu and the awful nationalist Israelis who prop him up. They’re awful human beings and the collective punishment in Gaza has been sickening to observe, as have the interviews with the Israeli nationalists you mentioned - both in the ruling class and civilians - who cheer on the carnage the IDF has inflicted. But as I have repeatedly tried to argue, this is not a case of good vs evil. Unfortunately both Gaza and Israel are controlled by awful rabid nationalists and both sides need the conflict, perversely, in order to stay in power. Bibi would have been out by now if it wasn’t for this. I don’t know what it will take to remove Hamas. I imagine this conflict has only served to radicalise more angry men to their cause. And so the cycle of death and hate continues. But there are good and bad people on both sides of this conflict. Please don’t lose sight of that. The awful nationalists who reject peace don’t speak for all Israelis and Palestinians. And whatever you think about Israel, the brutal treatment of the occupied territories, or whether you question Israel’s right to exist in the first place or consider it a “Zionist entity”, it is clear why western powers support it. It is the Jewish homeland. The place post-holocaust that the international community gave to the Jewish people, after 6m were slaughtered by the nazis. It is also the key strategic ally of the US in the Middle East. As for the nod to antisemitic conspiracy theories, I know you’re better than that. To your final point, Israel’s mission to wipe out Hamas was a direct response to the terrorist group’s threat to launch further attacks on Israeli soil after October 7. Hamas asked for this - don’t lose sight of that either. I hope Israel doesn’t raise the stakes by launching further attacks on iran. The world does not need this, with US/Russia tensions already high and Trump potentially about to enter the white house. But Israel surely would respond if the Iranian rockets continue to fall.

truss strikes back. nor happy with taking own the uk economy she returns to try to take dow the world before teeing up the final chapter in the series: the return of the anti-growth coalition

Da fuck happened to the crest on the claret and blue kit?

That’s an interesting thought. Wonder if he could be converted to play the modern DM role the way Ross Barkley has. He looks to have the technical ability to receive the ball in tight areas and has clearly packed on a bit of muscle too.

To suggest a majority of Israelis support the indiscriminate slaughter of Palestinians in Gaza is a lot like blaming ordinary people in Gaza for Hamas invading Israel to butcher and rape teenagers at a music festival. Hamas don’t speak for all Palestinians. Nor does Bibi speak for all Israelis. Of course there are rabid nationalists on both sides who want war, not peace. The problem right now is they’re in power in Gaza and in Israel. I just heard Cameron on the radio urging Israel to not launch a retaliatory strike on Iran. I sincerely hope they listen.

definitely. We’ve missed a player with physicality in midfield since big Joe’s injury and Anderson provided it yesterday. His pressing and strength was impressive

Yeah, I would agree with that. In a perverse way Bibi needs Hamas to continue to stay in power in Gaza in order to cling to power himself

Hate to agree with Gemill but surely we’re not catching spurs and Villa. Overturning a 10 point deficit with 18 to play for is surely beyond us. We’d have to win every game and two teams’ form would have to fall off a cliff.

they’re literally backing the two proxies Israel is fighting I don’t even really blame Hamas directly for the October 7 attack. They’re just the puppets. It was Iran pulling the strings. It can all be traced back to Iran/Saudi tensions. Iran wants Israel to become a pariah and weren’t going to stand for an Israeli alliance with the Saudis, so they’ve already achieved their goals to an extent. At what cost, fuck knows

It’s all linked though isn’t it - Iran back Hamas and Hezbollah. Hamas wouldn’t have been so bold to invade Israel the way they did without Iranian support. Israel and Iran are both to blame for any escalation.

I’m not defending Israel here. Netanyahu knows what he’s doing and wants this as much as Iran does - war is all Netanyahu has left because support for him has massively diminished and he’s clinging to power thanks to the conflict. You’re right that Israelis support the war. The rabid nationalists who don’t care about the slaughter of innocent Palestinians you mention don’t speak for everyone of course but there is wide support for the removal of Hamas and return of the hostages, yes. This is where the threat of escalation got real. Not exactly what the world needs alongside the Ukraine conflict.

I didn’t because I knew how awful the Israeli PM is - he won’t stop until Hamas has been removed and the hostages have been released and he doesn’t care how many innocent Palestinians are murdered in the process. I don’t know what the latest polling suggests but everyone I know in Israel wants Netanyahu out. Unfortunately for the people of Gaza, Hamas is in charge and Israel has the worst possible leader for this moment because he won’t stop until the Americans tell him to. Iran have raised the stakes with this move though. What has until now been a proxy war could escalate to a much more worrying conflict with Iran/Russia on one side and Israel/West on the other

It was clear at the start of this thing, when Hamas invaded Israel to slaughter and rape innocent people, that they were backed by Iran, knowing how brutal the Israeli response would be. Iran’s goal was to end the warming relations between Israel and Saudi and further destabilise the region. Until now it’s been through proxies, today they have launched missiles at Israel. I don’t know what happens next but nothing good comes from this.