ClaphamFox

I spoke to a Spurs-supporting colleague yesterday who is convinced that they're getting both Maddison and Tielmans. Nothing I said could persuade him otherwise. Sample quote: "£50m for Maddison would be too much money for a club like Leicester to turn down..."

Sentiment should never, ever play a part in managerial appointments. When faced with the possibility of appointing a former player as manager, all clubs should ask: would we seriously consider him if he hadn't played with us? If the answer is no, walk away. It's a simple as that, yet so many clubs still fall into the trap.

Not necessarily. If they're keen to sell Tielmans and we agree a fee, what's stopping it happening before then?

"The Sun reported at the time Drinkwater had crashed his car after a chav-themed charity party." Now that's what I call getting into character...

I was fifteen at the time and I was raging about it - I was absolutely convinced it shouldn't have been allowed. Thirty years later, I am finally prepared to accept that it was both perfectly legal and very clever. I'm getting old.

I don't believe for one moment that he was aware of the potential connotation when he tweeted it. If he was aware of it, he would also have been aware that he was committing instant career suicide, which seems odd. And as soon as the racist connotation was pointed out to him, he deleted the tweet and apologised. I think he made a genuine mistake, but unfortunately that's enough for instant condemnation these days.

Possibly not the greatest ever but a really enjoyable one: the 4-3 win over Leeds in 1989. They brought loads of fans and had half the kop, and were 2-0 up by half-time. Paul Ramsey came on at half-time and scored twice to make it 2-2 before Strachan seemed to have won it for them with a very cheeky penalty. Then Paul Moran scrambled one in before Gary McAllister swept home right at the end. Sheer pandemonium.

You're wrong, but you're entitled to your opinion

The fact that it wasn't deliberate was the most depressing thing about it.

I also thought this when I first read that tweet. Do people really think it’s a racist joke rather than a joke about racist attitudes? His other tweets were pretty innocuous. I’m really struggling to get my head around the fact that the FA have deemed it necessary to charge somebody for some fairly tame tweets sent half a decade ago when they were a child.

Thank God for the FA! Where on earth would we be if they weren't around to protect us by punishing people for comments they made five years ago when they still were children?

Fair points, but I'm not sure the analogy with normal folk taking on a bigger job is quite right. For most people, taking on a new challenge is indeed largely about 'mindset' - if you put in the time and are very determined to succeed, you've got a chance. But no amount of mindset was ever going to turn Drinkwater into the kind of player that would be a first team regular at Chelsea. He was bought solely to bulk out their midfield options when the Barkley deal fell through on transfer deadline day - that's all. If he genuinely believed he would be regular starter there, I can only take my hat off to him for his ability to delude himself.

Why? Everybody else knew it.

That article reads like it was written by an over-emotional 15-year-old. They're worried, aren't they?

It's all immaterial anyway because Marco Bielsa is going to be our next manager

That's the one - thanks!

What was the name of that Harry Enfield character who would dream up imaginary scenarios in which he was insulted in some way by a celebrity, then proceed to become enraged as if it had actually happened? This thread is a bit like that.

It really, really won’t.

Yes, I know most leave voters didn’t vote for financial gain. I’m just interested to know whether they fully understand and accept the financial cost, particularly as it will be the poorer areas of the country (where the leave vote was stronger) that will be hit hardest. If they understand that and believe it is a price worth paying for controlling immigration, fair enough.

The Chancellor of the Exchequor admitted on TV last night that every single ‘leave’ option would leave the country poorer than remaining in the EU. That’s not new, but I’d be interested to know whether most people understand and accept this, or believe something different...

No - just one more vote based on the new information at our disposal. And the only way for the people 'who have always got their own way to continue to do so' will be if the people vote for it. If the people vote to leave again, that's it - we leave, end of story. Whatever, it's clear that there are only two realistic paths now: either May's deal (or an amended version thereof) is passed, or there is another referendum. Leaving without a deal is not going to happen as parliament will block it by whatever means it can.

Yougov have also conducted a poll in the last week and found 54% in favour of remain. Nobody is suggesting we hold a referendum every time the polls shift. However, one more referendum before we take this momentous step, with much more information at our disposal this time, surely can't be a bad thing? I'd have a lot more respect for the Brexit mob if they were just honest and admitted that the reason they object so strongly to a second referendum is that they're terrified of the outcome. Edited to add - just seen this: https://news.sky.com/story/amber-rudd-says-parliament-will-stop-a-no-deal-brexit-happening-11559382

The point is that the public may have changed its mind as it has become clearer what leaving the EU will entail. Obviously we know that polls are fallible, but recently polls have indicated that a clear majority of the public now want to remain in the EU, which - if true - would mean we are about to take a momentous step that most people don't want us to take. That has to be worth testing via a referendum, surely?

A second referendum is a perfectly sensible option if you believe in democracy. We know much more about what Brexit will actually mean than we did in June 2016 - the public can make a much more informed decision. Obviously some people want to leave the EU no matter what and will vote the same way again irrespective of whatever 'deal' is on offer, but I'm willing to bet that there are also plenty of people who voted leave in 2016 but were less certain about it, and may have changed their minds since. Surely it's better to take this important step in our country's history with a clear and fresh democratic mandate?