CarbonVirtine

Monaco fans (commenting on the French l'equipe newspaper website) seem chuffed with the business and dismissive of the player.... "C’est pas une légende de dire que les clubs anglais sont des pigeons 14M pour un joueur pas titulaire indiscutable et qui est arrivé libre l’été dernier chapeau Monaco" "Une bonne affaire pour Monaco, un joueur venant libre de Lyon donc zéro dépense et revendu 14 millions, c'est une affaire. Ce joueur manque de percussion, il est moyen, il va cirer le banc de Leicester. Si Puel pense qu'il remplacera Mahrez, il se trompe." I'll leave you to run those through your favourite translator but I reckon you get the gist. (a 'pigeon' in colloquial French is someone fooled or duped, gullible perhaps)

I like that. I think it very well worded, superlatives in effective places etc. But, and I know this is very off-trend, I accept that I could be wrong.

Cheers, got it now.

More to the point, WHERE is the hate you're referring to? Hate is a strong word and I've not read anyone express that.

Folk on the forum that (and I'm doing it now) refer to other folk on the forum as a unit; very 'us and them'. There is no single entity that is FT, it is comprised of a multitude of single opinions - some shared, some not. Saying that there is 'FT meltdown' or "comedy gold" is nonsense and suggests only that the poster is big upping themselves (as I am doing now) and wants to be seen as an individual distinct from, and perhaps superior to, opinions that they in simple essence disagree with. There's no need to do that, chill. Most of us (myself included) know sod all in reality but we like to share that. No big thing. It's very normal human behavior, don't be offended by it nor feel the need to distance yourself from it. You're not judged by other people's opinions even if we are all, notionally anyway, Leicester City fans. ...but I do draw the line at "sweet Prince"... Jeez, getta grip

One out, one in. Puel likes them. Collects them book ends or poodles.

Indeed. Is there even an answer? Or is it all just words? We tell stories with words and nobody expects those stories to be true. We lie with words, we create fictional worlds with them - how can we ever be sure that we are speaking of anything (in matters philosophical) that actually exists? Didn't Wittgenstein said something like 'there are no philosophical questions, just semantic ones' Besides, England have just beaten India in what seems like a cracking game. That (within it's accepted/determined contexts) is real enough for me.

Can you repeat the question please? and maybe someone might like to unpack it a little as well, clarify some definitions, since it seems (to me) that one man's determinism is another's free will. That is, yes, I can think I am exercising free will but others say that some of that 'choice' is actually predetermined. If so, can we even say that 'free will' exists? Or is it only ever 'free will' over a predetermined range of options. And if so, who/what is doing the determining? I think I exercise free will in most things but I recognise that my (full) choices are restricted (by a number of factors)

Fans don't select players, managers do (maybe Wes does too??? ) It's managers that give players their chance, not the fans. Sure, that's a bit of an easy cop-out because fans do get on the back of players, make life uncomfortable for them, and are notoriously fickle with their likes and dislikes, but maybe that's part of making it as a player (and, yes, maybe it oughtn't be that way) Maybe players like Simpson make it because they believe enough in themselves (and, more importantly, the manager does too and keeps selecting them) to ignore the carp that comes their way from the terraces. It's a tough mix to fathom, that's for sure. Why does one player make it in one environment and not another? I don't believe that we're any more or less a toxic club than any other, I don't believe our fans behave any differently (in this respect) to any other group of fans. I think we have to say that there's a good dollop of luck that goes into the mix; some punts (like Mahrez) come up trumps yet others (arguably Musa) don't. As with anyone that signs for the club, many/most fans will have a ready made opinion - that doesn't mean that they don't want the best from them nor want them to fail.

On the basis of a couple of yt clips, I'm not personally overwhelmed. He's very left footed (no crime), can't tackle and can't ride a challenge.... oh, I see now.... I geddit... a "replacement" Praps Puel knows how to bring him on, sees something (he obviously knows more than I on my admitted parcity of research) but given the guy's not exactly what you'd call a 'young' talent, one does wonder why we're interested other than to collect winger options. Still, as long as we're not breaking the bank for him then maybe it's a punt worth taking for a squad player.

Possibly because people still say 'moron' about him. And because I'm saying this. No such thing as bad publicity? Shock jock stuff is tedious and puerile. It's very easy to offend. Takes no skill at all.

One out. I think we need one or two more but at least let's get Slimani off the payroll. Frees the cheque book up for one in.

(If true) I feel a little sad tbh. I think there is a player in there, he's not just a speedster. Sadly, we very very rarely saw it and his comedy moments tend to shine more brightly in our memories. The only way I can contextualise it is to say that it didn't work out for him with us (for whatever reason) and it's best for his career that he move on, forget all about his time at Leicester. I wish him well.

Well, as a training exercise, Valencia will be happy with the run around. They certainly got one. I'm looking forward to seeing how Puel manages this season, we've got a decent crop of youngsters to bring in. Amartey has come on too, I think we've got some decent right back options now.

Some top passing and moving going on from us.

I'm impressed with our kids. We might well have a decent squad this season

I don't blame anyone for anything ever. I LOVE everyone.

I don't find language learning easy because it requires 3 things that I don't particularly enjoy; hard word, dedication and making mistakes. That said, it has its rewards alongside its frustrations though I'm still very much in the 'magic words' stage. That is, I say something that has little or no meaning to me but it seems to mean something to someone else - hey presto, I get the cup of coffee I wanted! Also, be realistic. I've realised that as good as I may get that I'll never be fluent, I'll never be able to speak 'foreign' as I speak English, I'll never develop the 'feel' for a foreign language that a native speaker has - but I'll be more than happy with my 'magic words plus' level. I think it important to identify the way in which you learn best and focus on that. I'm not a book learner, I learn through using the language, so I find listening and speaking more effective (for me) than sitting down with a 'language learning' book. Put a book in front of me and I'll switch off within 10 minutes - it's just not real to me, all too abstract. Yet I know of people who love book learning and much prefer that route. Certainly a knowledge of grammar can help but don't get hung up on learning it if it's all Chinese to you anyway. Generally speaking (and as mentioned before), Brits didn't/don't learn grammar at school so taking that route is going to be slow because you're learning 2 different things at the same time! You don't need to know what a subjunctive is to use it. I've learnt more about grammar as a result of language learning rather than using it as a means to learn - if you know what I mean.

Also an excellent pass to pick out Nacho for what should have been a goal. Credit where it's due, Musa had a good game.

At the 2nd asking. Nice.

That was a lovely ball from Musa. Nacho should have put that away.

Amaretto to finish?

Oh darn and bother... or words to that effect. My stream has just started playing up. Just as we make bulk substitutions.

He does. I reckon he's trying too hard to impress. He needs to calm it down and play it simple. I suspect that's his lot for this game though. Amartey has impressed me, albeit not having a lot to do.

Diabate looking for 3 points...