bovril

You may disagree but I don't think there's anything "absurd" about the claim. They were very talented musicians, maybe not the most talented of all time or anything like that, but certainly pretty unique for indie music. Petridis puts it better obviously than I could: https://www.theguardian.com/music/2025/nov/20/mani-writhing-relentless-bass-the-stone-roses-secret-sauce-taught-indie-kids-to-dance?

People in Bulgaria will say corruption but I doubt their football federation is any more corrupt than say Macedonia or Albania who have had relative success recently. They just don't produce good players. One thing I've noticed in Sofia is the serious lack of young people playing any type of football compared to other countries, including Balkan countries. No idea why that is. It's like they've collectively given up.

Very difficult to walk into a club like that with no managerial experience. Personally I think he could have a decent career but this job is a car crash waiting to happen

I'd rather watch my club in the Vauxhall Conference than be from Birmingham

Top guy. From '21 to '23 he would've been a better option at left back than anything else we had. Tough job though.

Never been a massive fan of gobby northern indie bands that inspire football club like followings of middle aged men who watch a lot of Shane Meadows films. But early Roses were the real deal, partly because they were such good musicians. Squire obviously is a very talented guitarist (shit solo stuff notwithstanding), but Mani and Reni together were arguably the best rhythm section in British rock history (I guess people might say Led Zep but they're a bit before my time so whatever). I know a lot of people including the band themselves thought the production of the debut album undersold their talents but I still love how it sounds. It's such a gorgeous album and one of the few albums from the Madchester/Britpop era that people will be still be raving about in decades to come.

Mani

League 2 player of the year 27/28. Foxestalk user pmcla26 says this proves all he needed was a good manager.

You've been following more closely than I have. Shame if you're right about New Caledonia. I was hoping they'd play Scotland in Nova Scotia.

There's actually quite a dark story behind that infamous Zaire free kick isn't there? Can't remember exactly but I think it had something to do with time wasting so they didn't concede more goals and face the wrath of the country's leader.

Hope that DR Congo have improved their free kick defending since they were Zaire...

If they do, they should give them games in places associated with their historic migrations - N. Ireland in Appalachia, Scotland in Carolina, England in the North East other than Boston, which will host the Irish matches.

Qualified for 7 world cups up to 1998 then none after. Produced a fair amount of good players. They were never massive but the decline is stark, probably the biggest drop off of any European country

Two 1998ers qualify in Scotland and Norway. Leaves Hungary then Bulgaria as the two 'big' European teams with the longest drought.

Pat them on the head when they qualify. "Well done!".

The Brits invented the most popular sport in history basically as an outlet for our violent regional rivalries

Yes, which means we cheer against each other's team. I love Scotland as a country, in some ways more than England, but I hope they get smashed 6-0 every time they play, and quite rightly they feel the same about us.

Does he complain about immigrants?

Depends on the type of person waiting on your table. If it's an elderly woman in an apron in a small restaurant in southern or eastern Europe that looks like someone's front room, you could probably reel off half the menu and she'd be able to perfectly recite your order back to you two weeks later. If it's a guy in his early twenties in an upmarket cafe in the west end of Glasgow who introduces himself by name as you take your seats, then yes you know you're in for a difficult time.

When you look at trends in society I think most clubs' fanbases will slowly dwindle over time. Maybe in 15-20 years there'll just be a few that can attract big crowds, most of which will be tourists.

Claude Puel fascinates me because it feels like every single post about him on this forum, positive and negative, is wrong. He is to Leicester fans what the EU is to British journalists.

We send the EU £350 million a week. Let's tax our milkshakes instead.

Surprised how many people think he's only "average". Clearly very talented and a few months of bad form in bad teams doesn't change that.

Old bullseye is honestly more of an anthropological study of 80s provincial Britain than a TV show. Some of the faces, haircuts and above all the accents are sensational.

I woke up this morning and had to check I didn't dream this whole episode