Quinn31

17 hours ago, Cornish Steve said:

A decent win tonight, and I'm pleased we used mostly second-string players.

Look at this strategically. What, as a team, do we really want to do? What's our goal? What's our vision? What target are we shooting at? When will we know we've reached it? The answers to these questions should determine everything we do. Winning the pointless League Cup won't achieve anything except maybe a temporary glow until we realize it was barely worth the effort and serious teams are simply smirking.

The goal is to become a top four team and remain a top four team. Within that goal, we should aim to be number one and stay number one. This is a real goal, and it's achievable if we focus on it - and on it alone. With that in mind, the League Cup is a good way to learn whether second-string players are progressing, but that's about it. If it makes us tired for an upcoming weekend game, that's a negative. If it means we lose focus on the league, it's a bad thing. Focus, focus, focus. This is why finishing 6th instead of 7th is good, because we're getting closer to our goal. Finishing 10th and winning the League Cup means we're further from our goal and vision.

Achievable if we double our annual revenue as a club, assuming no growth in resources to the top 6 or big continental clubs. And that puts it at unlikely.

20 hours ago, Cornish Steve said:

I say this every year, and I know plenty disagree, but this is a Mickey Mouse cup that counts for precisely nothing. The prize money is pitiful, so financially it's better we focus on finishing one position higher in the league. No top team bothers to field anything other than a second string team, hence it's not unusual to see small teams progress further than they should. Frankly, we shouldn't waste first team players on it but instead use it as training for fringe players.

Gigi Buffon would say you have a garbage bin for a heart 

Seriously, there are realistically two competitions we can win each year - The League Cup is one of them. I want to win a damn trophy for once and if it means finishing 8th instead of 7th, so friggin be it. The PL is so rigged in favor of the top teams these days, that every team that doesn't anticipate a relegation scrap should be going all out for both cups.

1 hour ago, MikeO said:

Playing well though, but it's a curious one.

This is how we know that we are paying at least part of his wages while he goes on loan 

Wouldn't have risked him if it meant ensuring a year of his wages off the books

In the team against Rotherham... huh?

Cardiff and Huddy look pretty dire already.

6 minutes ago, MikeO said:

Wibble.

Mike, any chance you could explain the Europa League qualification rules one more time just for your health's sake? 

On 24/08/2018 at 13:21, Romey 1878 said:

 get in!

Surely if he ever wears our shirt, we have to have a work permit/immigration related chant for him? 

He lives where he wants, oh Henry Onyekuru, he lives wear he wants?

8 hours ago, Romey 1878 said:

I don't think there's ever been any confusion as to whether domestic bans carry over to European competitions.

Are you sure?

1 hour ago, markjazzbassist said:

right so you'd miss FA cup, league cup, PL matches.  but would not CL or europa matches.  thanks fifa

Correct until I'm proven incorrect by someone more aware of the news than me.

On 25/08/2018 at 15:49, Romey 1878 said:

Red cards count for all comps, only yellows are specific to the competition they’re picked up in. 

Domestic specific and foreign specific that is, I believe. Just to further clarify the ever-confusing world of football rules

5 hours ago, Bailey said:

He has deliberatly tried to injure/harm another player and he fully deserves to go. Its a clear sharp movement with his head and its the type of thing that should be stamped out of the game.

If you're injured by that flick of the head, then you're not tough enough for football. Probably not tough enough for anything.

Also, that should be stamped out of the game but Smith's provocation and subsequent play acting shouldn't be stamped out? 

Stupid from Richarlison, absolute shithousery from Smith. Seeing him walk was my favorite moment of the damn match.

18 hours ago, Romey 1878 said:

Orange? He goes in from behind and studs the players calf. Red all day. 

Just rewatched - probably a red, though my point still stands that Arter and Kenedy's fouls were worse and more stonewall reds. 

12 hours ago, Romey 1878 said:

Orange? He goes in from behind and studs the players calf. Red all day. 

Not quite enough force for me. Sorry to offend.

5 hours ago, MikeO said:

Not the best day at the office.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/45234934

Isaac Hayden walked for what was an "orange" card in my opinon, Arter and Kenedy stay on the pitch for stonewall reds. I'll note that the referee was Craig Pawson - dickhead.

36 minutes ago, Finn balor said:

I hope Gomes turns out like Fernandes who I fucking loved 

Except he joins on a permanent!

32 minutes ago, Finn balor said:

But obviously better 

Even better!

How about Steve and I start a business thread?

21 minutes ago, markjazzbassist said:

agreed, another factor is since so many battle relegation now the bottom 10 feel they don't have to splash the cash like they used to because their odds of survival are better with more teams battling it out.  this also makes the gulf between top half and bottom even larger sadly.

I disagree - I think a lot of the bottom have are splashing a cash in a way that not all of them were able to 10 years ago - but this is going to be a chicken and egg argument pretty quickly 

2 hours ago, markjazzbassist said:

it's funny, i feel in past years there were 1 or 2 dead cert to go down and then maybe 2-3 others that battle for the last spot.  Now it seems the whole bottom 10 is battling relegation.

I think that the Premier League stumbling into all the tv riches has done this. Since 70-80%+ of all the bottom half clubs revenue is going to come from tv, it doesn't really matter if you're a tiny club with a 15k seat stadium or a slightly bigger club. 

It's basically ensured there aren't any Derby County's but also made it much harder to finish 10th on 50 points, well above the drop and better than the relegation fodder but way worse than the top 6.

10 minutes ago, Btay said:

After wolves I can honestly see us top 6 with our best 11 in tune and on fire for the arsenal game. 

 

Also not sure if it’s been mentioned but Brands has done massive work in one window to drop our average Age.

I think Coleman/Gylfi/Walcott be our oldest first 11 with the others 25 and under.

We're 39 points from safety and I enjoyed our first match. 

2 hours ago, Makis said:

Moshiri got his money from Usmanov.

This.

I'm curious as to the source of Usmanov's money - I assume he got all of it during the privatizations of the 90's post USSR like most of the other billionaires. 

He claims that he didn't participate in any of the share auctions of these privatizations, of which many were rigged/bribed and thus billionaires made and politicians paid off. Not sure if I believe him, or even if that's true, that the methods used weren't another form of corruption/theft. It's an inevitable problem in a country privatizing all of its state owned assets with a poor citizenry - the only people with access to resources to acquire are the government, those who are in bed with said government officials, or foreigners with pooled capital. What a mess Russia and that part of the world is. Makes me thankful to live in a much more fair society.

Thought Keane did really well until Raul Jimenez's goal - need to go watch that one again to see if Keane completely lost his man or if it was just a very great run.

Richarlison was out of this world today. 

Cenk and Theo were energetic but a bit wasteful/not clinical.

1 hour ago, markjazzbassist said:

Still wrong. He was 35m pounds, that’s 37m-40m dollars. 

GBP is like ~1.3 to 1 and has been about that since Brexit I believe. Euro is more where you speak of. 

7 minutes ago, nyblue23 said:

On NBC? To be fair I think he said dollars, which is closer to the truth.

Said dollars from what I heard, which he's hardly the first big signing to get referred to by his pricetag by commentators. I can confirm this since I watch other football matches.

Good transfer window but we'll probably get battered over the first month or two of the season. New players need to get healthy and gel. 

We'll see if patience remains.

20 hours ago, Newty82 said:

For now...I think we'll see a few moves to Europe.

I hope he goes tbh or gets loaned to the Championship. No room for him.