David Guiza

I'm usually in the pessimistic part of camp when it comes to our club, but I feel like I watched a different game yesterday to that of a number of people on here and certainly the pundits involved. There's no doubting that Brentford were the better side prior to Tielemans' strike. However, beyond that we managed the game perfectly well I thought. Yes we didn't create a huge amount of chances, but we also weren't really threatened a huge amount either from memory. Their equaliser came from a corner which we could and should have defended better (again), but it didn't feel like a 'that was coming' moment, maybe that's just me. Following that they had a little more possession, but again no real cutting edge. Janssen had a decent chance, but I'm fairly confident it would have been ruled out for a shove on Evans anyway. We then took our big chance, which we worked very well, and they struggled to muster anything of note beyond that (even with the additional stoppage time). It certainly wasn't the barrage that they unleashed on Chelsea the week before. We can certainly go up a couple more gears (I hope) and there's still a few players who aren't quite there, but it very much feels like we're starting to get back to some sort of rhythm.

I'm under the impression that Evans' injury isn't something that would necessarily get worse with playing more often, it's seemingly just as likely to flare up at home than on the pitch. It's not a Ricardo/Soyuncu situation. Famous last words of course.

Managed to forget one of my all-time favourites:- The Roma team from 2000/2001 (last time they won the league) had some icons in it. Totti (obviously) and Montella are probably the only two that are best remembered for their time there, as opposed to elsewhere though. Unless you're counting Delvechio and Tommasi (played 7 times for QPR in 2008?!) Batistuta (think most would associate him with Fiorentina and the Nintendo shirt/smashing the OT to pieces) Nakata (Perugia or Parma) Cafu (probably better remembered for his time at Milan) Zanetti (Inter) Walter Samuel (Inter) An obvious shout for Parma from the mid to late 90s too.

Great thread! As a massive fan of Championship Manager 01-02 I'd throw the Bayer Leverkusen side of that season into the mix. Some real iconic names in there:- Michael Ballack Oliver Neuville A young Dimi Berbatov Soon to be World Cup Winner - Lucio Bernd Schneider Ze Roberto Didn't quite make the grade, coming 2nd in the Bundesliga and runners up in the Champions League too. Ballack then left, along with most of the others and they've never really had a side like that since (possible exception of 2010/11) In reference to the initial post, Valencia also had a memorable side in that same season and I loved their kits at the time too! Bleached blonde Canizares in the sticks, Roberto Ayala at the back, the incredible Pablo Aimar in midfield and big bad John Carew up top. (Palop, Baraja, Vicente, Adrian Illie, Kily Gonzales also in their ranks)

Has anybody been watching the New Labour Revolution documentary series on BBC? I imagine@Alf Bentley may have done if nobody else! Really enjoying it so far, and even shed a tear at Gordon Brown's reaction to John Smith's death. The first episode is almost a carbon copy of today. Tories with unassailable leads, general public perception that Labour were out of touch and labelled the 'looney left' by some. I think I've mentioned in here before, but I do think (probably more hope than think) history may repeat itself with Starmer playing a Kinnock role of uniting the party into something electable and leading the way for a new leader to see the job through. The biggest difference perhaps is that there's nobody in the current opposition with the intelligence and firepower of Brown, or the personality and sheen of a young Blair, though I do think there's perhaps parallels to be drawn with Burnham and Blair. I completely understand that he had his faults, but I also cannot comprehend that Brown was tossed out in favour of Cameron and Clegg. Naturally the global economic crisis, Iraq war and other factors were largely at play, but I also think Brown's dour persona cost him dearly, which is silly.

Somewhat clutching at straws... Rab Douglas Robbie Neilson Robert Huth Rob Ullathorne Bobby Roberts Robbie Savage Rob Kelly (player manager) Roberto Mancini Iwan Roberts Mark Robins

After ploughing through some classics and the like i've really been enjoying this. It's a deep dive into fan culture in Italy, and, thus far, it's done very well to stay fairly balanced on the subject. Learnt a lot of about the left/right divide between the clubs there and the power that fans have both in and out of the stadia. Would certainly recommend it to @Voll Blau @SemperEadem and others who I've seen with a love of that culture.

I think it's worth remembering that whilst the specifics of the disease were clearly not going to be known by anyone, a global pandemic had been spoken about for a number of years and the government had ample time to have some form of plan of action in place. This isn't something that happened overnight. The government were slow to cancel events, slow to enforce lockdown, slow to review the border situation, and slow to have any form of plan of action. This then continued throughout the year, when they had weeks, and possibly even months, to clarify the Christmas situation and waited until what was essentially the last minute to do so. The mutated strain that was responsible for about half of all cases was seemingly known about for a decent period of time before a further lockdown was enforced and the public made aware. Of course the plan of action was never going to be infallible as a result of myriad unknown and variable factors, but it was amateur to the point of culpability and liability on more than one occasion. People buying into the 'captain hindsight' bollocks, and convincing people to feel sorry for Johnson as the poor loveable rogue protagonist who didn't sign up for this difficult job is what will see this shambles of a government past yet another catastrophic failing of its people.

You could also argue the opposite - plenty have made a career from going against the grain, both on this and beyond. I don't know a great deal about the intricate details of most of those that you site but I have a decent understanding of what happened with Le Tissier. From memory, he'd lost his main source of work before he opened his mouth/opened the Twitter app as a result of Sky getting rid of some of the old guard. Were he an asset to sports broadcasting who had been sacked after citing peer assessed reports and making reasoned arguments then I think that's a fair and just cause to say he's been hard done by. However, what he's actually done is cite Magna Carta like some sort of drunken town preacher. I will always be an advocate of free speech, but that is not freedom from criticism and it's also not freedom from reproach in all environments. If an employer, on either side of the debate, feels that a particular person's comments do not fit their narrative then they are within their right to take action, within certain remits of course. As a sidenote, If it turns out that scientists were wrong and the likes of Ebdon, Le Tissier, and Anthea 'the body' Turner were right then I will be taking a long walk into the sea as that is not a world I want to live in .

I'm not suggesting that I would turn my back completely, as effectively it is an addiction that is hard to kick. I've not been comfortable with a few things our owners have done over the years, in particular the minute silence when the King of Thailand passed away. Something along these lines could really be a final nail in the coffin. It's hard to avoid being hypocritical in the modern age. Avoiding everything from Amazon to Palm Oil is sometimes a virtual impossibility. However, I don't think I'd find it impossible to turn my back in some shape or form on the club and that's despite being a season ticket holder for 20 years and a former away regular. I'd undoubtedly still check the results and be happier when we win than when we lose etc, but I couldn't give my heart and soul to something that I wholeheartedly disagree with at the core. Worth remembering also that the club couldn't could care less if you walked away, so long as there's somebody else who can fill your seat and expenditure.

The only saving grace in all this is that the farmers may enact a Partridge style revenge on Johnson.

Cheers, chaps. I did assume I may be thinking too much into it, I also had the initial conversation over the phone so I guess I could always say I thought the question was 'what salary are you after' as opposed to 'what salary are you on' . When I last worked there I was an assistant and my boss at the time mentioned a couple of times that the only reason she left her previous firm was because the offer was significantly better. I got the impression it was a Seth Johnson to Leeds type scenario! I'm awful when it comes to negotiating on anything like that, I'm fine when it's on a client's behalf but not for me. Something that I definitely wish I was more confident with.

Got approached by old employer from a few years ago and, as I'm not desperate to move, I bumped up my current salary to see if they'd baulk. They've now been in touch and offered the position on that basis, but I'm concerned that, were I to accept, my P45/reference will show the truth and it'll all blow up in my stupid face. Jeremy Usbourne style.

Yes, of course. Imagine Chelsea and co would start some form of trafficking of young players to gain citizenship (more so than they perhaps already do) Yes, definitely. I think in some ways in may make it more exciting in that there would be such an incredible buzz around those three players on each side. Back in the old Serie A days it lead to even the poorer sides getting some really good foreign players, so there is an argument of it bringing a more competitive nature to the league. Though, in reality, Man City would sign Haaland, Mbappe and Neymar and Burnley would sign James McClean, Shane Long and Ciaran Clark.

I was listening to the Andreas Brehme episode of the Quickly Kevin podcast on the way to work this morning and was particularly interested in him talking about the times of the three foreign players rule in Italy during his time at Internazionale; and the rivalry with AC Milan and their three Dutchmen. It got me thinking about what the Premier League would be like were the rule ever re-introduced, which perhaps isn't as far fetched in a post-Brexit world . I'd like to think that our strong British contingent and academy setup would stand us in good stead to compete. Man City and Chelsea would presumably struggle, but their respective finances would see them through. The English Tax would increase tenfold over night and Dyche and Burnley would be loving it. Which three players from the current squad would you stick with and who do you think would suffer the most? Given the lack of available options in their respective positions, I think I'd keep Tielemans, Fofana and Ndidi and line up with: Ward, Justin, Fofana (Int), Evans, Thomas/Bertrand, Ndidi (Int), Tielemans, Maddison, Barnes, Vardy, Lookman. Do we think it would benefit the national team as a result greater opportunities for homegrown players, and perhaps more English/British players going abroad to become marquee signings for the big European clubs and benefiting from that experience. Or will it be a return to the pre-Premier League 80s early 90s which, as great as it was in some respects, was severely lacking in quality at times.

If only we'd had the same political party in charge for that period, surely they've had been made of such an issue and rectified it long before it got to this.

Unless i've missed anything new, I think the injury is plantar fasciitis and in most cases operations aren't required/wouldn't cure the injury/pain. I've suffered from it for about 18 months, it's non uncommon in runners, and it can be anything from no pain/sensation whatsoever to absolute agony with no real obvious cause. Physio treatment can help long term, but even that is a long process. I am far from a medical professional, but I get the impression that it's more complicated than a standard break or muscle injury etc.

Assume all those who think it's an Italian problem slept through the Euros final?

Steve Cooper did well with little to no budget at Swansea, so he may do well there. Unfortunately. Had a scroll through their messageboard earlier and it, again, reminded me of how lucky we've been in recent years. One poster was trying to cheer everyone up by sharing a video of when they beat a very young West Ham side in the FA Cup 7 and half years ago.

Surprisingly, yes. Still, at least he was able to meet Marcus Rashford.

Gavin Williamson to be replaced as Education Secretary. As ever, the ousted minister is reciting a list of made up successes.

Had he played less than a handful of games for us and was then shoved aside I'd understand where people were coming from, but he was given ample opportunity by numerous managers who all eventually gave up on him. I think the only one that really rated him was perhaps Puel, simply based on when he preferred him to Vardy. It's also just how football works. There are countless examples of players finding their feet after years of doing nothing elsewhere or their form falling off a cliff after a move, and plenty of players who started a season like a rocket and fading to obscurity. Outside of collecting players so they can't succeed elsewhere, ala Chelsea, there's not a great deal one can do about it. Remains to be seen whether he's going to be the next Kevin de Bruyne or the next Paul Warhurst.

I'm sure I may have posted this before. This used to be our local chip shop.

I did the Great North Run yesterday and there was a chap at around mile 4, which you also pass again around mile 8, with an sign that said something along the lines of 'BBC is the virus' and a megaphone bleating out some conspiracy theories about the vaccine to the passing runners/spectators. He was gone when I went past that same point again; assume back to his own planet.

Much better defensively, which perhaps isn't a surprise with a couple more experienced players back. Still don't look together going forward, but we looked much brighter with Iheanacho and Lookman. Hopefully that'll come together shortly. I think most reasonable fans probably expected 6 points from the first four games, and that's where we're at. Next few games will give us a better indication of where we're going.