bovril

26 points from the last 30 for Orient. Absolutely flying.

Tough #WhenTaken #333 (25.01.2025) I scored 795/1000 (💡x1) 🏅 1️⃣📍💡7.7K km - 🗓️3 yrs - 🥉106/200 2️⃣📍1.9 km - 🗓️7 yrs - 🥇191/200 3️⃣📍5.7 km - 🗓️13 yrs - 🥇176/200 4️⃣📍2.2 km - 🗓️10 yrs - 🥇185/200 5️⃣📍2.9K km - 🗓️4 yrs - 🥈137/200 https://whentaken.com

Not a bad appointment. They're pretty awful and it's a difficult division so they're not going to be winning instantly, good to get someone in who can lay some foundations.

Of course, but I think a huge problem is that since the summer of 2020, after George Floyd's death in the US, we've imported lots of American talking points on race - the problems of 'whiteness' and white on black violence in the UK. A lot of people resent that and are very quick to push back the other way when something like Southport happens.

Now that's the kind of name I can trust

There is also the fact that a lot of footballers a) don't understand that much about football and b) will obviously say positive things about their mates. Coady is obviously popular with the staff which is why he appears to get away with being a crap footballer seemingly more interested in podcasts. I'm sure we've all worked with similar blaggers in our time.

This guy must be the biggest blagger ever. I was listening to Albrighton on the way over to Leicester before the QPR game. They asked him about young players coming through and the role that senior players play. He started saying "At Leicester we had..." and I thought to myself do not say Conor ****ing Coady.... and he named Coady. Played with him for one ****ing season. Could be recency bias I guess. Or maybe his cheeky scouse charm. Cannot stand the guy.

Perhaps we underestimate how well Enzo did last season, certainly in terms of man management.

Some great ones today. #WhenTaken #332 (24.01.2025) I scored 927/1000👑 1️⃣📍2.5 km - 🗓️1 yrs - 🥇199/200 2️⃣📍8.1 km - 🗓️7 yrs - 🥇191/200 3️⃣📍1.2K km - 🗓️3 yrs - 🥈162/200 4️⃣📍28.6 km - 🗓️9 yrs - 🥇186/200 5️⃣📍299 km - 🗓️1 yrs - 🥇189/200 https://whentaken.com

Thought it was quite an interesting discussion on the nature of citizenship and ethnicity...

Whatever. It's ethnicity so there's no rules and we're not going to agree. I'm probably going to move back to Bulgaria soon and might get Bulgarian citizenship. 90% of Bulgarians would probably disagree that I suddenly stop being English and start being Bulgarian but I suppose there's nothing to stop me feeling that way, as you say. And when you said you were first gen I thought you were born elsewhere.

We've done all this before but if you're first gen, for me at least, you're a British citizen but not English. Same as my partner who recently got citizenship. However if you really want to be English then whatever, more power to you, come join us, we're the best.

so maybe just take a day off from this stuff

Struggling to come to terms with the barbarity of it.

That the British state is not well-equipped enough or not willing enough to tackle serious incidents like these, I guess.

I think we've found the guy from the Manchester Free Trade Hall.

Had this in the R&D Arms a couple of weeks ago and yes it's very nice. Do they still produce Beacon? Haven't seen it in ages and always thought it was a very nice light bitter but the kind of beer that doesn't get drunk loads any more.

This is just what I expect from Britain now. Attempting to ban or restrict things as a response to failings of the state. Like when David Aimess was killed and everyone decided the problem was social media freedom. Just unbelievable levels of gaslighting.

Replacing him with Ward might be the single worst and most consequential on field decision the club has ever made.

#WhenTaken #331 (23.01.2025) I scored 915/1000 (💡x1) 👑 1️⃣📍3.0 km - 🗓️3 yrs - 🥇197/200 2️⃣📍60.1 km - 🗓️5 yrs - 🥇192/200 3️⃣📍💡1.9K km - 🗓️0 yrs - 🥈152/200 4️⃣📍15.3 km - 🗓️1 yrs - 🥇198/200 5️⃣📍1.9 km - 🗓️13 yrs - 🥇176/200 https://whentaken.com

Ward had a decent mini run in autumn 2022 which probably help his numbers. And I know these stats are obviously supposed to be quite objective and reflect the GKs performance not the whole team's, but Stolarczyk has come into the most dysfunctional team you can possibly imagine at a really difficult time of the season which hasn't helped him at all.

Ah great stuff. Prizren and Ohrid are beautiful. If like me you like to match your holiday reading thematically with the destination, The World and All That it Holds is an enjoyable novel that starts in Sarajevo. In terms of history, Misha Glenny is the obvious writer but his 19th and 20th century history of the Balkans is a little big to fit in a suitcase. Mark Mazower's history of the Balkans from about 1700 is very good, concise and light. Mazower is excellent in general, he has some good books on Greece. Kaplan's Balkan Ghosts used to get talked about a lot, but I'm not a huge fan.

The news from Birmingham is appalling. I would say unbelievable but unfortunately it's not. What kind of society have we made where kids getting murdered with knives seems to be a semi regular occurrence.

Bosnia is more beautiful and interesting than either in my opinion. Go down to Macedonia. Beautiful scenery and some amazing cultural heritage. Kosovo too, though it's harder to travel round. Northern Greece is also a real favourite of mine, especially Epirus and Rodopi.

Best part of the world for sure. Been living and travelling on and off there for 17 years and feel like I've barely scratched the surface. Bosnia is wonderful.