London Blue

This is odd, we must have run transfers past the Prem League, Onana did surprise me because of the fee, but it was spread over 5 years. Have to wait and see I guess. What makes it worse is because if we had a functioning board that communicated with the fans then the club would have communicated something to the fans, even if its "We had a budget, we stick to it, we informed the premier league all the way, we have done nothing wrong and we will keep you updates every stap of the way"

Which Transfer?

Interesting read, even if it is the fail.... https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-11901997/Premier-League-questioned-flight-clubs-decision-charge-Everton.html

True but Moshiri's background is finance and we have been co-operating so something is off. We know what the rules were and how much money we had to spend, the nail biting moment last season after clubs complained were eased when the Premier league said we were on a tight leash and compliant, so what changed? Sky Sports saying this will take months so any result may well not affect this season.

I can only think that we went over agreed spending this season, given the premier league were happy with what we were doing last season. The club are adamant we did not so somebody is wrong.

If we stay up, I would be interested to see what sort of team / squad he will develop, and what sort of football we will play. I think it will be allot more technical and passing based than people think, but with a steely defense, and mentality.

Newcastle were all over Forrest at the start.

If there were easy answers mate, people allot smarter than us would have found them By thinking about it and talking about it is a start, change is never easy but if we can all agree that things have to change and its just a question of how, then that's progress.

I know what your tyring to say Newty its ok. Culture is such a wierd thing, people are members of lots of different cultures at the same time, ethnic culture, religious, each with their own sub groups, then there is your social culture depending what groups you belong to, age related culture, even fashion and brand culture - think Apple etc. In my experience most people are members of many different cultures, and usually there are a couple of dominant cultures, mostly, religious, ethnic, work and social and they all overlap, like a ven diagram. Its highly unlikely that all players or even the majority of players all feel the same way about management or career advancement, as they all have different experiences and cultural pulls etc. I don't think you can say all Black people have the same cultural pulls, just like you cant say all White people have the same cultural pulls or influences.

Look at the below table and tell me what is wrong with it; As you can see there is quite a disparity in Black players playing in the league and those who manage or control teams. So if we take Newtys starting point in that people who are interested in football as our reference point, we can assume that the people who are playing the game are interested in it. Most managers and coaches are ex players to some degree or another. So why are there so few Black managers and coaches despite making up such a large proportion of those playing the game? I don't think anyone seriously thinks its due to cultural reasons or DNA, people who play football are part of the footballing cultural community which is very diverse. If as others in the game have said that there are not enough doors open, so if by helping Black people and People of Colour through the door, and making sure clubs have to interview, not necessarily hire, just interview a non-white person we can change that then what's the problem with that? I agree there are very few people of Asian heritage playing the game, and I don't know the reason for that, but is you are not playing the game you are less likely to take up a career in coaching that game. I think there was an effort a few years ago to broaden footballs appeal to different ethnic groups. Its strange that countries like China, India, Pakistan do not have serious football leagues given the sizes of their population. Its a good question. But looking at the English leagues it's wrong to me that there are so many Black players, yet so few Black managers and coaches. It is something that must change, imho.

I'm not talking about quotas of managers or coaches, I'm talking about getting more Black Coaches on training courses they meet the requirements for and given an interview for jobs they are qualified to do. That's all. Doing what we have done so far has not worked. So let's look to do something that has worked, such as in the NBA.

How many talented managers and coaches do we miss out on when there is such under-representation?

Not in NFL because the owners have so much power, but it has started conversations on TV shows and in the media asking clubs why they are not giving chances to certain coaches, the Washington Commanders and Colts are two clubs that have come under real scrutiny over their hiring policies. Its not enough but having it discussed bt mainstream media is a step in the right direction. NBA on the other hand is much more effective: English soccer could look to another league as an example of better representation: the NBA. In the 2021 NBA offseason, seven of the eight head coaching vacancies were filled by Black coaches. Overall, according to The Institute for Diversity and Ethics in Sport, Black people during the 2020-21 NBA season made up 50 percent of head coaches, 53 percent of assistant coaches and 40 percent of general managers. These numbers reflect the dominance of Black players in the league: Almost 75 percent of NBA players are Black.

What about taking away from people who never got the chance in the first place? Its not a zero sum game where its all Black coaches or all White coaches, what we are saying is change the balance so more Black coaches get on the courses for a while so we get balance and fairness. It doesn't mean no white coaches get trained, and all those participating have to meet the same standard. I don't know what the figures are Black coaches doing the Fifa top courses are but say its 10% Black, then if we increase it to 30 % for that, in conjunction with the Rooney Rule would make a difference. There is a good article here: https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/why-arent-there-more-black-managers-in-english-soccer/

You cant force but you can set the conditions necessary to have change. If you have candidates of equal quality and under-reputation of one community then it makes sense to employ people from that community to get balance.

The only reason Viera had a door to be opened was because he was one of the premier leagues best players, that kind of pre-requisite limits the opportunities for other Black people who want to be managers. In order to get balance and fair representation Black players and coaches need to be prioritised to achieve it then that seems to be a fair price to pay. Nobody is saying white players can't do the coaching courses or be appointed to jobs, just that more people of colour need to be trained and given a seat at the table to get an interview to be given a chance.

If he had not been Viera he would not of got a sniff of a job. As Haff said more needs to be done to get black players / people onto the coaching courses and supported through them, then the Rooney rule to get them job interviews. Until then nothing will change.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/63385012

Your right there needs to be more done to encourage Black managers to become managers and get the chances in the lower leagues so they can get the experience. Its not just a PL problem its the same in many leagues. I think a version of the "Rooney Rule" is needed.

With Palace sacking Viera will they get a new manager bounce? Viera seemed to be a popular manager with the squad, from a selfish viewpoint I hope they finish below us but sad that Viera has gone. No black managers in the PL is shocking, so much needs to be done on that front, but that's for another thread.

All true, we just need to keep it clean, let the board be the bad guys. At least it was not violent or threatening, no excuse though.

Good goal, he seems to know where he needs to be, and he certainly knows where the goal is! Certainly an exciting prospect.

Maybe on the subs bench, I think 20 minutes or so could be useful or hi recovery.

I've just finished a 16 hour shift, taken my son swimming and by the time of the match I'll of been up for nearly 30 hours. I can't go to bed I have to watch the match as this game will define our season. If we win we will have belief. If we lose I just can't see us have enough confidence to get clear of relegation Coyb do a tired man a solid and send me to sleep happy with 3 points in the bag!

The stadium (and the fans) is / are the saviour of the club, it makes us a very salable asset. No matter what happens with the stadium we will attract investment.