Dr Gloom

Netanyahu and his coalition of far-right nutters and ultra orthodox loonies on one side, and Hamas, Hezbollah and Iran on the other, are all cut from the same cloth. Neither side (at least those who are in power, or pulling the strings currently) are interested in peace or concession. In fact, they need conflict to remain in power. Meanwhile it’s the innocent moderates in the middle who suffer

(i fully support a two-state solutuon, i should say. i just don't know how it happens in our lifetimes. it would take both sides around the table, say "enough is enough" and make big concessions. we're nowhere near)

it's hard to see how it ever happens. There is too much hatred and so little trust built up over decades of conflict. The Oslo accords seem a long, long time ago. Israeli nationalists and dickheads in the settlements believe Gaza and the West Bank is theirs. Hamas wants to wipe Israel off the map and replace it with a new state of Palestine, from the river to the sea as the chant goes. Moderates on both sides who believe in a two state solution and peace are scared about the military threat from the other. FWIW, Israel bulldozed its settlements in Gaza when it withdrew, it could do the same in the West Bank if there was ever the political will (seems a million miles away from where we are today). It's worth noting that Hamas were elected shortly after Israel withdrew - something the far-right nutters would point to if things ever got that far. Any future Israeli pm who went down that path would probably meet the same fate as Rabin

it's hard for me to switch off because my family are in the middle of it. for what it's worth, popular opinion in israel seems to have turned massively against netanyahu. there have been regular protests on the streets about him, particularly after so many of the hostages were returned dead. he will end up behind bars when this is done, and rightly so for the atrocities he has overseen, which is why it's in his interests to prolong the conflict as long as possible. conversely, and perversely, his likud party are climbing in the polls again. fucking hopeless.

The new season of House of the Dragon on the other hand is excellent if you’re a fan of GoT.

I haven’t been able to finish the first episode of the new season of the bear yet - 20 minutes in and all we’ve had is a pretentious, self-indulgent cooking montage to music. Has anyone got past it? I enjoyed the first season but not not I can be arsed with more of this shite

Talksport twats going off like the Toontastic boys. Simon Jordan very much in the Gemmill/Toonpack camp

might be the same place as that's about when i started posting too. pretty much my entire working life

July 29, 2005. Original Nuttah I was on toon-chat (the earlier iteration of this place which i found via nufc.com) prior to that and flirted with N-O for a bit until it became apparent this place had the better quality bantz.

not a tangent at all. Good points, well made about a system that uses the guise of a deterrent to reckless financial ownership to protect the established elite. It isn’t fit for purpose. The “other 14” need to wake up and stand up to the greedy 6

welcome back btw. I thought we lost you to N-O long ago

only 59, he came out of nowhere that world cup to win the golden boot, if i remember correctly

Gordon, Isak, Botman, Bruno and Tonali are the most high-profile signings under Howe. Only one of them is English with premier league experience. And even he was one with potential rather than an established elite player.

Seven spokes of the wheel wanker

No - chicken, wine and creepy dancing is on the agenda this Saturday

I think you’re probably right and Mitchell has just made the mistake of clumsily trying to manage up in public. He’s clearly not as clever as he thinks he is but I sincerely want him to succeed in the role he was hired to do. He does arrive with a good reputation so here’s hoping they bury the hatchet, keep this shit behind closed doors from now on and he works well with Howe. I think that’s what we all want - apart from the knackers on twitter who still want Howe out

I’m prepared to give him the benefit of the doubt but the first impressions aren’t great, from the quotes I’ve seen from him. I’ve encountered this sort of character in my career before: management-speak, self-exculpatory and refers to himself in the third person. Here’s hoping they get it sorted behind closed doors, he gets on with doing the job he was hired to do, he works well with Howe instead of trying to blame-shift and we’re not exposed to more of his drivel.

It was your analogy. I dunno wtf you’re on about tbh. UNSUBSCRIBED!

he was vague, which is why Howe took it personally and why the majority of supporters seem to be backing the manager rather than the new DoF

Mitchell isn’t the CEO though, is he? If Eales had uttered similar shite to the media perhaps Howe wouldn’t have reacted in the same way. My understanding is Howe reports to Eales/PIF, not to Mitchell. And that Mitchell is there to support and work together with Howe, to identify and secure targets together. No point the DoF signing players the manager doesn’t want, is there? But maybe I’m wrong and Howe does now report to Mitchell. I don’t know but that would explain the tension too - not exactly a charm offensive by the new boss is it, assuming Mitchell is Howe’s boss, particularly when you consider how Howe has outperformed in his role to date. If some incoherent new hire steamed into my office and slagged off my work in public, in a vague and incoherent way, we’d be having words. More than a strongly-worded email too. It’s no surprise Howe is fucked off. Mitchell has got plenty of time to sort this shit out but he and Eales need to make sure everyone is on the same page next time before Mitchell goes flapping his gums again. Howe is the one with credit in the bank at this stage.

takeaway for mitchell: don't say a bunch of vague and provocative shit which could potentially piss off your new colleagues to the media without making sure everyone is on message first 👍

again, i don't think eddie sees it that way. if eddie had batted the questions away in his signature style i might be inclined to agree with you but it's pretty obvious he's got the hump

i guess we'll see. i'm not getting vibes that eddie sees it that way, but i hope it all blows over and mitchell proves himself a top DoF capable of working with the best british manager in the business

this is the point I was alluding to earlier about the commercial team. they weren’t criticised by Mitchell. Seems he’d rather hang out the manager to dry