Dr Gloom

i would say the opposite to what mitchell declared - it was fit for purpose. the recruitment of an ambitious and progressive young manager and some astute signings turbo-charged us to champions league qualification years ahead of schedule and facilitated even more exciting signings - few of which we paid over the odds for or whom have looked out of place. the words mitchell offered up, without any explanation to exactly what or who he was getting at, smacked of self-preservation and understandably provoked a response from howe and the ensuing, unnecessary drama. yes, he is right to acknowledge that we are constrained by psr and might have to be more cautious if we fail again to pull in the champions league riches, but the way he put it was naive at best and if you're going to be more cynical it was provocative.

agree to a point. I’d be seething if a colleague publicly undermined me too so I don’t blame Howe for being prickly in his interviews since Mitchell spoke out. It needs to be addressed internally sharpish. Pretty clumsy of Mitchell to kick it off in front of the media so soon into his tenure. He arrives with a big reputation and I hope it works out and that the “civil war” that most reporters are running with is resolved amicably but it isn’t a great start.

You’re making excuses for Mitchell. Like I said, the way Mitchell put it - to a room of journalists - was very clumsy with scant detail explaining what he meant. It’s no surprise that Howe is pissed off as it could clearly could be taken as a dig at him. And the reporters have rightly ran with the civil war narrative because Mitchell gave them no option to run a more positive story. In my opinion Mitchell gave the interview to protect his own position after a throughly disappointing transfer window. It might be that none of it was Mitchell’s fault, that he came in too late to identify targets and he really was playing a supporting role to Howe at this stage, but it’s a press conference we didn’t really need. He could have been much, much more diplomatic

If we qualify for the champions league again - and the commercial people start doing their job properly - it might be sustainable. I don’t think the way we’ve spent money is too outlandish. We have made a number of astute signings - players bought for relatively modest fees who have seen their value rise while playing for Howe. This should be commended not criticised. And we haven’t allowed any club to have our trousers down over transfer fees, evidenced again when we walked away from Guehi when Palace started taking the piss. If we fail to qualify for the champions league again you might be right. I think the way he phrased it was very clumsy however and has created tension and column inches the club didn’t need. The problem really is we haven’t been able to recoup money for our players. That’s because we’re mainly talking about shite leftover from the Ashley era, some of whom we have struggled to give away for free because of their wages. He could have been clearer about that. Il I’d be fuming if I was Howe too. He’s been stitched up in a public forum by his new colleague - he must have taken it personally given he was acting as de facto DoF with a big say over recruitment - when the truth is he’s done a brilliant job under difficult circumstances, essentially performing two roles at the same time. The only transfer to criticise was ASM. I think we accepted less than his market value because we were so scared about any comeback from the powers that be because we were selling him to Saudi. I’d rather we were bolder on that tbh. We’ve played so nice so far while Chelsea continue to take the piss out of the rules.

do you agree with Mitchell when he said our recruitment policy wasn’t for for purpose?

not exactly a head scratcher was it? they’re ten a penny down here. my q5 was pinched from outside our house. Prefer the Tesla tbh. Much nicer to drive and no sign that it’s falling apart. Yet

I still love my Tesla one year in

still playing the suicidal high line. “Angeball” might produce entertaining football but I don’t see them winning anything playing like that

That verbose, sycophantic knob is the absolute pits. How the fuck did he get the job of senior commentator?

following through and now this. Not a good week for the poor lad.

Nervous excitement. I’m off to the t20 finals day at Edgbasron then a pub debrief followed by rave in Digby. #prayforgloom

u ok hun?

her questions in howe's press conferences are rank too

the elephant in the room. it's in the post....hopefully. i mean if it isn't, i would be inclined to agree with the rest of your post. the mad thing about it is how fucking scared labour still is of the B word. the truth is, though it may sound a little morbid, voter demographics have changed. a lot of people who voted for brexit are dead now. it wouldn't be that outlandish, during the honeymoon period of this government, to boldly set a direction of travel - to start aligning standards in a load of areas and to begin talks about a customs union arrangement. businesses would LOVE it and it would give the ailing economy a shot in the arm, and hopefully lessen the need for more austerity. we learned from the last lot that you can't cut your economy to grow it. The "benefits of brexit" are mythical. people realise that now. and public opinion has moved on to the point where they no longer need to keep tiptoeing around the issue. no, we're not rejoining the EU anytime soon, if at all. but they should be starting to lay the groundwork for much, much closer alignment and integration. as for the keynsian proposals in the face of rising debt, i'm no macroeconomic expert either, but i'm not sure what other policy levers they have available. what we don't need is another government obsessed with "balancing the books" - let's see some ambition. the country's infrastructure has been left to rot and isn't fit for purpose.

i don't have an excuse, as a middle-aged former smoker who should know better

it's the nicotine. i dunno if you ever were a smoker but it's a highly addictive drug. the vape companies lure the kids in with bright colours and sweet flavours then they've got them.

is it though? you're still basically heating up your lungs while you inhale it. i dunno, lesser of two evils perhaps but it can't be any good for you. and, i'm sorry, you inhaled cigars? are you some kind of animal? that's like asking the waiter to warm up gazpacho soup, a'la arnold rimmer

bit of both. i missed the buzz while i was away. i can survive without it fine (after the initial day or two of nicotine withdrawal), but i was craving the idea of it as soon as i had the chance on returning. the physical addiction is also real, mind. i've found my skin literally crawling when meetings have overrun, finding it hard to focus at work etc until i've been out and had a quick blast on the vape. i say quick - they're invariably 10-15 minute breaks

got myself hooked to the lost mary nic salts - 20mg of nicotine

I'm off to the T20 finals day at Edgbaston on Saturday. Ridiculously late in the season, again thanks to the hundred. Thank christ it looks like this early winter we've been enduring this week looks like it will subside a bit by the time Saturday rolls around

i've had a nightmare. i smoked throughout my teens, 20s, and early 30s. finally kicked the habit after having kids and got to the point where i only have the occasional tab when v pissed - and even then i stopped enjoying the sensation of smoking so it never felt like nicotine had its claws in me. now, after all these years, i've only gone and got myself hooked to a vape. fuck me, they're addictive. they don't appear to be regulated so the nicotine levels in them are off the scale - way higher than in tabs, plus there's no end to the bloody things! the thing about smoking is you have a tab and it satisfies a craving for a bit - with these bastards 20-30 minutes can easily disappear and you're still chugging away on them. i went cold turkey while i was away on holiday with the kids to "prove i could stop", then got right back on it as soon as i could after i got home. i know i need to pack it in - they're no good for you and i don't want the kids seeing me using it, but it's reminded me how much i enjoy the buzz from nicotine during the day; so much nicer than caffeine, which i'm also addicted to, but my caffeine consumption has dropped massively as a result of this. anyone else hooked to this absolute junk?

i'm sure someone on here once said BJs are overrated poor soul - obviously never had one performed by someone who knows what they're doing