ajthefox

A third of the way through this. Very good so far.

4 hours ago, brookfox said:

Didn’t realise Arsenal have the second highest net transfer spend over the last 5yrs. Wonder if people will now start calling Arteta a chequebook manager. Fine with them winning it but there’s something about the style of play which puts me off.

Certainly wouldn't have thought that, they've definitely spent a bit more recently but I do wonder how much of that is balanced out for Man City and Chelsea hoarding youth players just to flog them.

Wtf is with the wide stripes on the sleeve there. Shit that.

3 hours ago, Miquel The Work Geordie said:

 

They wouldn't — we are embarrassingly run, but we are a huge, huge club for level we're currently at. You might, at most, get a handful of upwardly mobile managers (or managers at upwardly mobile clubs) at the top end of League One who'd have to pause for thought.

 

It would represent a *huge* step up and opportunity for nigh on every manager in League One and below.

Any manager from this sort of level that backs themself will be licking their lips.

Run like shit or not, the potential for success and uptick on a managers reputation is massive. And with all the issues at the club, even a mediocre mid-table finish would hardly be that damaging for anyone on the on way up. 

The only way any manager looks bad is if we really struggle, which is certainly on the cards but even then they can point to the shitshow we are.

4 hours ago, Gamble92 said:

That bit where he asks for a beer is so staged 😂 Least his acting has improved a bit since "oh hello there"

 

I'll let him off though 

Mmmm I did think that seemed a bit obvious!

7 minutes ago, plinchiestincture said:

Grok has made my proposed John Rudkin statue look like the love child of Nelson Mandela and Keir Starmer; given the state of much representational art this may be accurate.

Meet you by the Rudkin at 10 past yeah?

Get it done kids!

It will be some time in July I reckon.

We probably won't hear anything on their search until June.

27 minutes ago, Foxin_Mad said:

The problem is globalism and globalist corporations. The majority of small to medium sized businesses can not afford better pensions or pay, many companies in the country are in the brink. Tax is high, rates are high, energy is high ,wages keep going up etc etc. For many businesses in the economy there isn’t much extraction. I don’t really understand the left wing view that all businesses are extracting extreme wealth from the economy. It’s simply untrue. 

 

The globalist corporations are using tax avoidance schemes are the ones doing well and maximising profits for shareholders. It’s a global problem, but it’s difficult for UK policy to change global business. Meanwhile we kill our manufacturing and end import the same things made in worse conditions made with coal from overseas.

 

The whole tax system is broken. I too have worked in the public sector and I personally could see why it’s very wasteful and ineffective, to the point I left, I liked serving the public but some of the waste and incompetence in middle management was unreal imo.

I'm not sure that that view (bolded) is particularly widely held.

I think most somewhat left leaning people similar to myself (not speaking to the extreme) would agree with a lot of what you have said and that it is the big global corporates that are the primary issue.

Sure there are plenty of other problems, but they wouldn't be so much of a problem if the money wasn't all heading up the chain into fewer and fewer pockets as time passes.

2 hours ago, Parafox said:

Sorry, it stinks of a tax scam or something that will avoid some PSR or whatever. Like Chelsea selling their hotels to avoid tax/PSR investigations 

 

Also, I can't see the women's game, as popular as it is with the obvious supporters and rightly so, ever being as robust as the men's game. 

 

I guess that, over time, it will develop further but I doubt it will ever attract the audience numbers that men's football does.

No-one said it is about being "as robust" as the men's game. You are missing the point comparing the two.

Arsenal's women are averaging 30k+ at home. This is better than several mens PL teams. They have some honking numbers in there but also hit 50k+ against Man City recently. It's not about any specific number though, it is about growth.

The women's game is growing massively. I don't watch it and I'm not advocating for it especially, that is simply what numbers say in terms of revenue, attendances and eyeballs.

1 hour ago, DJW1 said:

People who don´t know me and call me "buddy" or "bud" the first time they talk to me (perhaps I don´t like it because I´m 60)

People who go "yeah yeah yeah" after someone else has said something

Blokes who wear shorts in the winter. You don´t look cool and you don´t look hard, so stop it!

I dont think any of these are that bad, but why on earth does other people wearing shorts bother you?

I occasionally think "you're mad wearing shorts" but if that's what they want to wear it makes no difference to me...

20 hours ago, AKCJ said:

What a ridiculous waste of money.

I see why you might think that and others will too, but the research and trends on women's football suggest otherwise.

I was in a lecture recently with bigwigs from KSS, Populous and a German company who did the Bernabeu re-work and Populous in particular spoke at length about where they see the market going for stadium complexes. The potential growth in the market for the women's game in general is massive and their feelings were that in the long term this is going to reap rewards.

I'd create another 5 threads so we can all discuss it in a multitude of different places.

I'm fluctuating between fury, sadness and numbness. It's criminal what these morons have done to our club.
 

42 minutes ago, The Doctor said:

done. Need as many as possible to fill it in, get rid of the idea that those of us calling for change are just a noisy minority not representative of the fanbase as a whole. Easy to say when it's 100 turning up for a protest, far harder when it's 5-10k speaking through a supporters organisation 

100%

Many seem to have different ideas and thoughts on protesting, but anyone who is unhappy needs to be doing this as a minimum. It's the easiest way for us all to clearly state for the record (in addition to taking physical action) that we are not happy, and why that is. 

Really wouldn't shock me to see us drop further.

How are this lot going to stop this rot? 

8 hours ago, Claudio Fannieri said:

I think as soon as we are officially relegated  he will walk, given his short term contract hopefully he will politely decline to sign an NDA and forego a very small pay off and come out all bins blazing about what an absolute circus and clown show the club is. 

Not sure why you think we would do that, it doesn't really benefit him does it?

You can dislike Ed Miliband. You can raise concerns about how we transition to net zero and how we fund it. Fine.

But fvck me what is that Garbage excuse for some sort of political position. 

6 hours ago, Jattdogg said:

Looked at direct flights to the UK, anywhere from 6k to over 7k (canadian $) for your basic flight with carryon and 1 checked bag (for a family of 4) in August. 

 

Of course time of day matters hence looking for flights and how far out etc.

 

I can fly to the Caribbean for that for a week of doing **** all with unlimited food and drink essentially.  

 

I would have to rent a car in England and my spend would be a lot higher with buying food, petrol, shopping etc. Some of it would be offset staying at my brothers place but I dont want to spend 2 weeks in freaking Chesterfield lol.

 

 

Yikes.

Me and a few mates went over to Toronto for a wedding early last September and we all paid less than £500 for a return with a checked bag.

Cooper, RvN and Cifuentes were all shite and share some blame.

But none of them deserve a share comparable to Rudkin and Aiyawatt because each of them turned out to be the equivalent of putting a plaster on an amputated limb.

1 hour ago, Stadt said:

 

 

The 25/26 accounts will be a more moderate loss but I think 26/27 will be a blood bath. We'll sell off the last bit of family silver just to cover costs + we have to almost completely rebuild the squad.

 

And we'll cheap put on the managerial appointment (free agent) and then sack them anyway paying probably paying > 10x the amount of compensation than the initial settlement.

It's an adjacent discussion, but this shows quite starkly how fvcked the game is.

AI slop being served up as "art"

On 25/03/2026 at 00:15, chrishlcfc said:

Changed my meds, they’ve 100% made me feel worse than I was before. Can’t sleep, whenever I wake up, I’m suicidal. Absolutely sick to death of doctors and the system of help you can get. Trying talking therapies for the 2nd time they’re rubbish.

 

Eroded more friendships because all I talk about all the time is not wanting to be alive and people have got fed up. There literally is just nothing left for me in the world, I’ve tried everything and I’m just completely and utterly sick of life.

 

The only thing that stops me is I’m too much of a wimp to even end it all. 

I hear you Chris. 

I don't think theres much I can say but keep plugging away bud, I'm rooting for you. You're still here despite your struggles, I think you're a lot stronger than you realise my man. 

My grandma used to say 'Well, blow me'. Always gave me and my sister a giggle.