People in grief need time, they need compassion, they need understanding. They need to be assured that the world will not demand they move faster than they can move.

They do not need Wayne Rooney talking about throwing people "under the bus."

People in grief talk about other people expecting them to move on, when they are not ready for that. That other people get bored by their grief when they are still dealing with it.

That is talking about Liverpool.

Was Eze ever released from any clubs when he was younger? I'm not sure anyone has mentioned it.

There is something a bit toxic - dare I say, a bit Norman Tebbit - about the idea of telling a young person they have to decide, aged 21, an extremely complicated issue of identity and stick to it for the next decade.

Miguel talks about having more than one nationality, which is not uncommon in 2025, and International football would improve if each World Cup a player could renominate the International Side they play for, allowing someone like Sterling to play for Jamaica, having played for England.

@rorysmith.bsky.social

I think there is a superb analysis here of what has happened to clubs, having made Football Fans into Customers, creating a group of people in the stands who act as if a defeat equates to going to a Theme Park and finding the rides are broken, and the restaurants are closed.

contact can be.

Otherwise "Clear and Obvious" both are being used to mean the same thing, and you could just say "It has to be clear."

One can observe if a ball hits a hand, but one can't observe if a player meant to do a handball, so it isn't "obvious".

In the phrase "Clear & Obvious" doesn't "Obvious" mean "Can Be Observed" rather than "Is easy to assess?"

Because watching a VAR of someone taking a dive and saying "I think this is a penalty because he is a good bloke" is making a decision on something which can't be observed, but doing it on...

And I'm not saying "Bellingham: Working Class Hero", but I am saying that perhaps we might ask why we need to protect the structure which his ego threatens, and perhaps why Rice is allowed to dictate his position without question, but when Bellingham asserts himself it becomes a Toxic Ego situation.

While there is an idea that England is obsessed with big names, there is also an obsession with names not getting above their station.

It does not matter if you are actually good at playing football, it matters that you doff your cap to the manager, and the men in blazers behind the manager.

If the problem with Bellingham is that he takes too much responsibility, pushes too high in the Team Leadership structure, is "stepping out of line" then perhaps we might muse that the rigid hierarchies of the English class structure are so robust that even Tuchel has falling into them.

Lars & Barry and the question of Scandinavian Bingo

youtu.be/U5mG60R_pks?...

Do you think that Scott Banks has a future there? He was great for Bradford City a few years ago.

+5
Utterly furious about massively niche situation at the club to the point of troublingly violent prose.

+10
Fury transfer to you for not sharing anger, and you worry you might have to move.

+15
Calms down and decides that you are new best friend.

+5
Thinks you have control over who the club buys/plays/sells/features in advertising.

+10
Questions your ambition for the club when said player is not bought/played/sold/put on billboard.

+15
Uses the words "You are the problem."

+5
Two line reply to 2,000-word article demanding you one-eighty on your view.

+10
Follow-up calls you arrogant for reversing position.

+15
Goes on Twitter to say has "had a talk" with you.

+5
Praises generally agreed to be bad player/manager/chairperson of the club.

+10
Says that player/manager/chairperson is better than club legend.

+15
Seem unaware that anyone might disagree with the above.