Ghoat

I think this window we had no choice, there was nothing of consequence to spend until we freed up some funds. Frustrating, but when you look at us spending $60-70M "proactively" on bringing in 3-4 #10's in 2017, that we lost our ass on, none of which are on the current roster, it could be worse...

The list of lads who looked good and scored the winner against us at Goodison last year is pretty lengthy

I'd be happy with that XI, plus it has a possible little "shop window" benefit for transfers/loans

Did I missed something on Godfrey? Not in squad and Fotmob doesn't show him out on protocol like it does James

One very small local example for those in my part of the country. In 2004 Hyundai built it's only US assembly plant in Montgomery, AL. This past month they assembled their 5 millionth vehicle. 65 Suppliers also moved into Alabama (as in were not here prior to the plant.) The annual economic impact is estimated at $5B per year in Alabama. In 2009, Kia (Hyundai is their parent company) opened their only US assembly plant in West Point, GA. 5 Miles from the Alabama state line, and 95 miles from the Hyundai plant. That has a little over $4B economic impact, with over a a billion of it to Alabama, as many of the suppliers are in Alabama, sitting between the 2 plants. That's almost $100B that Korean industry has impacted just Alabama in less than two decades. Now they may jam up the golf course a little, but it's a small price to pay, and we have a lot of great Korean restaurants! Strategically it's also a great place to keep an eye on the largest most aggressive communist government in the world, not to mention their crazy ass little cousin. If we bailed out of Korea with the speed we did Afghanistan, I bet within days (if they got approval from China) Seoul would be in ruins and the DMZ would be overrun, at a much higher cost to the world.

Most of the stuff in that bill will takes years to see the fruits of - lots of very needed things - but they are not things that are quick projects or immediate fixes. And it may quickly get "lost" in the noise of the brawl in the form of $3.5T that the democrats are trying to get pushed thru. Gold, Jerry, gold!

Do we know any more about who might be available that wasn't last week? Kean kinda baffles me, he seems to have zero interest in Everton, even tho he has gotten nothing but love since he arrived. Product of age/maturity maybe?

Especially since we are about to lose a significant amount of interest from South America. I've heard/read around $5M, but even that if true, is a bargain, even if it's only to sign and place on a Championship loan. Selfishly I'd of course like a Yank on the team, but there is the off the field considerations mentioned above, vis-a-vis a largely untapped US market.

Big 3-0 win for the Sheriffs, and a brace for Adama Traore (the one from Mali, not Spain!).

I do think most Americans, left/right red/blue wanted to see us continue to scale back our involvement and withdraw combat troops. However, I don't think any Americans wanted to see our embassy overrun, the Taliban encircling the city in American humvees, civilians falling to the deaths off C-17s, and thousands of American citizens trapped outside the perimeter being told to "Shelter in Place" while we ask the Taliban nicely if they will let you through. Unmitigated. Cluster. Fuck. There are failings at many levels, State Department, Joint Chiefs etc, but ultimately, as he said "The Buck Stops With Me". This will rest at the feet of Joe Biden. He is completely over his head at this point and it looks like his party is abandoning ship on him. He has been sheltered quite a bit since he took office, I do not think he is competent to lead or hold the office, and this seems to be bearing that out. Don't get me wrong, I don't think Biden is a bad guy in the least, and I don't hate him, but I don't think he's driving the bus at all. I personally feel he is far more the face, not the power, of the executive branch from day one. And now he is being left to bear the responsibility for other's (advisors, administration et al) inept foreign policy acumen. This is the first real backlash this administration has faced (besides from the opposition party), and it's a biggie.

The enemy of my enemy is my friend. We were all allied with Stalin.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FC_Sheriff_Tiraspol sold!

FC Sheriff vs Dinamo Zagreb qualifier kicking off in about 2 hours. How did I not know that was a club named FC Sheriff??? So, I may have found my 2nd fav club, and that!

Very much like Viet Nam, in respects to an unconventional enemy that is willing to absorb disproportionate losses and play the long game, be that 5 years or 30.

But when The Orange Man did exactly that he was accused of xenophobia, and of wrecking all of our alliances. That was literally the policies behind Make American Great Again - balancing out trade tariffs/imbalances, and leaning more on regional allies to hand regional issues. I'm not saying he was totally successful, or not a bull in a china shop in his approach, but he had a some wins for sure, despite all his MANY failings and fucked up demeanor. He was the one that actually pulled almost all of the combat troops out of Afghanistan, leaving the contingent of special forces and advisors, instead of infantry and armor. "Speak Softly and Carry a Big Stick" is about the only way you can deal, IMO, with the Taliban and such - but it only works if they know good and damn well you will wield said Big Stick. Point in case, look at what's happening today. The Taliban has zero fear of Biden wacking them with a stick. What should have been a long overdue tactical withdrawal has turned into a dumpster fire. This could be our worst foreign policy disaster in years. And regardless of who is in the White House, NO ONE should be happy that we have created in International shitshow.

IMHO, it's because Trump suggested it. Granted he threw so much shit against the wall for 4 years, that some of it had to stack. Law of averages, blind squirrel/acorn and such. But yeah of all the places in the world for it to originate, in the backyard of the biggest Chinese biolab that studies corona viruses...is a hell of coincidence.

That is a drum I will beat with you all day long. Be it engineered or natural, the Chinese government treated the situation like the USSR did Chernobyl, they tried to handle it quietly internally until the genie was literally out of the bottle and had to be acknowledged. Fucked up the world six ways to Sunday.

moved up 10 spots to 10th in FIFA rankings, which may be a little high, but I'll take it. Now I don't understand how Mexico moved up 2 spots to 9th, ranked a head of us. I mean they lost to both our A team and our B team

@Palfy yeah I have read along the thread for a bit and am aware of your Covid experience - you should buy a lottery ticket with the odds you have hit with all this are pretty incredible No need to apologize @patto it's a subject we all have to deal with. Besides, Mark and I will usually disagree on most everything non-USMNT related, but civilly so. My guess is this may become the new flu shot, that has a booster every year. Except the flu has a season, this does not. I am curious if other folks have gotten the J&J one-shot vaccine? I got that a couple/few months back, both my neighbors got it a month or so ago, and all had minimal reactions to it, I actually had no reaction to it.

I wore my Everton mask to the Florida Cup, even tho I am fully vaccinated

You realize I'm not disagreeing that masks, overall, have some benefit right?

Is the CDC reputable? They have told us both they work and they don't work. And when the whole country was wearing masks, cases still climbed. Do they work? I'm sure. How effective? I don't think there is a consensus on that at all. However, my point was more on the fact that children, even before shots were available, represent the very lowest percentile across the board on infections, hospitalizations and mortality rate.

That doesn't make sense, I thought we were already in a wave of infections? Not arguing the point, just confused

"the science" doesn't tell us that. There have been zero cases of a child infecting a teacher in the US that I am aware of. It does certainly inhibit learning and teaching at the minimum. I really don't feel we should be making kids, especially younger ones wear masks in school, there isn't much to support it's necessary besides the sentiment you shared - however, I don't feel strong enough about to make a federal case over it - but if kids(their parents) or staff want to wear a mask, then by all means they should. I might be inclined to wear it, just to avoid the hassle. airlines seem pretty aggressive, and even if you are "in the right", you will be right, but likely still removed from the plane. And that's a shitty way to start a holiday! I had not worn a mask (besides very sporadically) until the Mrs and I took a trip to Panama last month. Wore it 24/7 when not in our room down there. Their country, their rules, and all in all, air travel included, a small price to pay for a great time exploring a new country. Well, to be fair, Panama isn't that new, but it was to us

The battle raging here in the States is currently on to require/not require masks for some 50 million school children or not. And as always the pro-con is so clouded by politics and special interests, it's maddening. Luckily mine are past that age, and my wife who taught 3rd graders for 26 years was forced to retire last year last fall (forced back into classroom against Dr. advice), so as she says "not my circus, not my monkeys. Shit-show regardless.