Sparrowhawk

All reasonable points. But - we have scored five in three games, and it's not as if we're taking every chance we make. I know stats are pretty much meaningless so early on, but that is nearly two goals a game. If whoever plays as striker is involved in the play, and if the chances are made, and if enough of them are scored, does it matter who gets on the end of them?

I've always assumed it's a combination of being in a tin box and surrounded by 30000 other people all trying to use their phones. I've never noticed any problems outside the ground. Inside is impossible though.

If anyone is being wilfully blind for ideological reasons here, it isn't the Doc, and your last but one sentence shows it. They used the word 'potential' completely correctly, because in any individual case there is only a potential advantage. Any actual advantage depends on the individuals involved and the nature of the sport in question.

Agree completely! Disagree completely! He's showing he can be just as dangerous, but in a different way. I imagine Maresca would love a squad full of players as intelligent, versatile, and comfortable with the ball as Ricardo.

I agree that having won four out of four and shown plenty of very encouraging signs, it's a bit early to put the boot in on a brand new manager. Singing 'F*** off Enzo Maresca' would be a tad premature at this stage. Even for Leicester fans. Although we are only second, so I wouldn't put it past some of us.

It's a tricky one. Sending them in the post later seems a bit joyless, and obviously a football match can't work like the Olympics where they all come out a couple of hours later for the medal ceremony. To be honest, part of the problem is that they have to wait around so bleeding long these days! In the old days, about five minutes after the match, the runners up would get their medals, the winners would get theirs, the trophy would be presented and everyone would go on their way. Whole thing would take about five minutes. The thing I've always found to be utterly pointless is the third place play-off. A match that nobody really cares about, and which the two teams playing in are massively disappointed to be in. A total waste of time.

If they quietly take them off a few minutes later, that's fine. Who'd even notice? Some of the England players were snatching theirs off their necks as soon as they got them. It was just plain rude.

I have no scientific evidence, no intention of offending anyone, and may well be talking through my hat, but aren't more men than women further along the autism spectrum? And there's a lot about being really good at chess that seems to match up quite well with ASD...

I'll be very surprised if we don't see quite a lot of both these teams in the semis and finals of major tournaments over the next decade...

Absolutely. I would maintain it would be better to not give it to her now, though, like the runners-up medals. I don't think anyone would receive such an award at this time and be happy about it in the same circumstances. I was very impressed with her to be honest. Having been in tears a few minutes earlier, she accepted it with enthusiasm and a smile. Also the women were so much classier getting their runners up medals than some of the England men. None of them took their medals off as soon as they got them in a stroppy sulk!

Maybe it's just because he's about twelve, so a bit shy with the grown ups.

Young ones who don't even go, by the sound of it.

I give up. Which part of 'you can easily have two keepers and two (or three if you want) strikers on the bench' is so hard for people to understand?

tbh the main point is that the lack of strikers on the bench is just as much because it's full of defenders and midfielders as because there are two keepers sat on it.

Do you not think that goalkeeper is a slightly more specialist position than striker? I know which of the two I'd rather have a midfielder have a go at doing for half a match in an emergency.