Number 1 - Comments

No solution to this crisis is a good one. Its all about picking the least shit one at this point.

So... leagues in Spain, the Netherlands, Portugal, France, Denmark and the USA have been suspended along with the previous ones in Italy & Switzerland, with the Champions League & Europa League stopping games and Euro 2020 in severe risk of postponement, Arsenal's manager tested positive for the virus, Real Madrid have quarantined their entire squad, Juventus and 2nd tier German side Hannover have had players also test positive, Leicester and Man City have put players in self-isolation, and that's just today. Fuck me this is dreadful.

Its a worry the Premier League's initial call was to carry on as if nothing was wrong was the right one.

Not just football as well either, given the US basketball, multiple tennis tournaments, MotoGP, Formula E and others have cancelled events, as have film shoots, film premieres, concert tours and the rest. And that's not forgetting the utter clusterfuck that is the F1 race in Australia, which seems to be at the moment both going ahead and not going ahead.

Middlesbrough, Stoke and Huddersfield all being in the Championship relegation battle has caught me by surprise, even if I'm aware all have by themselves had crap seasons.

Think its safe to say that so far, Woodgate for Pulis at the Riverside hasn't worked out.

Quite something the scoreline in this photo from 2015 was the same score of last Saturday's result. A result I'm still perplexed happened, even if I did think Liverpool's first PL defeat would come to a team outside the usual top 6.

Newcastle in the FA Cup quarters... Been far too fucking long since I could write that phrase.

Almost an old school thread this given most of the posts were still in 2014. Also quite something that back then, the vibe was "Anyone but Vettel & Red Bull" whereas now "Anyone but Hamilton & Mercedes" might be the common thought among neutrals.

Tbf 2019 had some pretty good races overall where Mercedes, Ferrari and Red Bull were often level pegging, McLaren and Renault even ran them close on some weekends, and Toro Rosso sneaking podiums. So it would be cool if that continues.

I can see this being tied up at the CAS for ages.

I can also see a similar attempt to kick PSG out the Champions League, given I seem to recall similarly serious allegations were made by Football Leaks about their financial conduct. Whether it is acted on is another matter.

I'm still puzzled that a Newcastle fan decided the appropriate emotional response to our winner at Oxford on Tuesday - even if it was a great goal - was to drop his jeans and do a helicopter. Christ knows what he would've done if that was an FA Cup Final winning goal.

Can't say I'm impressed a Newcastle starting 11 not too dissimilar to our normal league 11 failed to beat a L1 side who hadn't won in 4 and were missing key players, with Oxford also having the better chances.

Still, given we've got very lucky in some recent PL games, we were probably due such a slap in the face.

Just had a flick through the whole thing - season 1 in the Champs League, winning the Carabao Cup in season 2. Excellent start to proceedings.

If Liverpool fail to win the league from this position, they're never going to win it. But I suspect given all the rest of them below are so dysfunctional that Liverpool can afford to let 2/3 games slip and nobody would emerge to make life more uncomfortable for them.

West Ham let Moyes go to "move to the next level" under Pellegrini, and have now sacked Pellegrini to potentially bring back Moyes... so that's gone well.

I know, meanwhile, its almost a cliché at this point to complain VAR is being used to take offside checks to ludicrous levels, but Christ alive this round of fixtures has taken the piss.

The first knockout round:
Borussia Dortmund v Paris St-Germain
Real Madrid v Manchester City
Atalanta v Valencia
Atletico Madrid v Liverpool
Chelsea v Bayern Munich
Lyon v Juventus
Tottenham v RB Leipzig
Napoli v Barcelona

There was a stat the other day suggesting the majority of potential Tory voters who would have voted Remain in any second referendum were still going to stick with the Tory party despite that party's pro-Brexit position, which I reckon is a haul that got them over the line in a lot of Remain-voting seats in the South but which could've made things more interesting in a referendum context. I never said I assumed it would win - I agree there were still a fair wedge of Labour voters that back Brexit, and there's still people who didn't vote that may still want to just to say they still believe in it. But I don't think it was impossible Remain could've won a second ballot, even with that angle of "denying democracy", which is a great one for attack ads. Its more that they didn't try to even force it - it was always "now is not the time" when voting on a deal vs Remain was even something supported by some Leave voters in focus groups.

Instead you get an election where the Remain vote split more, and it was unlikely to stand a chance - even less so as Corbyn and the Lib Dems have big-time baggage, and in a few seats got in each other way. The tightness indicates they might've had a shot, although it probably still would've been very difficult. But its irrelevant now.

On the basis we've had a vote that has changed the make up of the House of Commons to an undeniably more pro-Brexit Parliament, all we can say now is that if Brexit doesn't happen next month, something very odd will have taken place.

Clearly. Their midfield was oddly passive when they played at St. James' Park, which is a game where I think they would've been expected to dominate the midfield space.

I'm pretty angry anti-Brexit MP's didn't fight harder for a second referendum, because the numbers indicated by this ballot look to me that it might have snuck a win - looking at the totals, the Tory vote is just under Labour/LD combined, and while it unquestionably would've been close when everyone else is in, it looks to me that's how it would play out. Obviously its hard to speculate, even with concrete numbers, but that's how I interpreted it, even if it probably would've been similar to the last one being split by less than 4%.

It was really fucking obvious the Remain vote was going to be divided into more options than a leave vote because they would just have the Tories at their beck and call and ready to pounce, and they fell for it. The Lib Dems pushed hard for this ballot in particular, thinking they were on to a win and it just blew up in their faces. I'm aware the SNP were - looks to me like they were ready to try and throw English Remainers under the bus to get independence.

So I think there's going to be resentment from this side for years, which is only going to increase from the Brexit side if it ends up being a disappointment/disaster.

Huh... quite something Man United got beaten by West Ham, Bournemouth and Newcastle, then picked up back-to-back wins over both Spurs and Man City.

It does seem to be a pretty intense sacking season, with Spurs, Arsenal and Watford (for a second time) all pulling the trigger in quick succession, Everton's manager under intense scrutiny and West Ham having probably been ready to follow had Pellegrini not got victory at Chelsea with a 33-year-old PL debutant formerly of MK Dons and Millwall in goal.

Maybe its just the time of year. Usually see a few dismissals in late autumn/early winter but the last few seasons haven't quite been so intense as this one felt.

Lower PL is indeed our level (sadly, for someone who can remember top 5 finishes when younger) but poor seasons in the PL with Hull and Sunderland, and a messy time at Villa did make me a bit twitchy.

The cynic in me could suggest some of these results are one we might've had with Benitez. But equally, we have responded very well to an atrocious display at Leicester. 3 wins against teams we've had an iffy record against along with a double comeback against Man City, off-colour MCFC finishing or otherwise.

Huh. Bruce is doing better than my low expectations suggested. Granted it helps him our defenders are stepping up where our attackers aren't, but still - take what one can get.

As for Liverpool-Man City, I'm not going to say that the title race is done, especially as Man City literally recovered from such a deficit last season, but its still going to be a very difficult recovery process. And that's even without them moaning VAR robbed them of a penalty seconds before goal number 1.

Bury have been officially expelled, while Bolton have been given a final deadline of 2 weeks from now.

What a complete fucking mess.

With Bury yet to start, Bolton in increased danger of expulsion after their kids limped to a couple of 5-0 maulings and Coventry not playing at home, League One this season looks like a complete mess.

It looks to me that the EFL only seems to have tools to punish clubs rather than help ones in genuine peril, and it just ends up with a negative spiral. I accept serial rule-breakers need to face some form of penalty and its pretty obvious Bury & Bolton have ended up in the hands of some people who have no business in being involved as football club owners, but I'm not convinced they've been entirely helpful throughout this debacle.

EDIT: This was posted before Bolton's administrators put out a statement saying the takeover collapsed and the club is to be liquidated this week if it doesn't meet the new EFL deadline tomorrow. Its looking pretty fatal.

Well... Norwich was a total disaster so my expectations for this were low, even if we have a half-decent record at Spurs. I'm holding judgement on whether its the start of Bruce proving himself - Steve McClaren won our last game at old WHL, for instance - but I think everyone needed that. Things had got to a dark place in recent weeks so a very good performance and result were necessary. I had expected that to be against a surprisingly dysfunctional Watford next week, but success is success.

Spurs surprised me. Considering their talents, they were really slow and ponderous, and after Eriksen had come on and proved he wasn't the answer alone, they just didn't seem to have any back-up options. Almost like they're thinking Kane alone is all they need up top. Again.

Its odd how, like 3 months ago, the Laporte handball would've got a free pass, with even Lloris admitting they didn't think it was a malicious use of the arms by the Man City player. It is technically correct in fairness. But I guess it doesn't do a lot to help Guardiola and co be happy with VAR, especially as its happened so soon after Spurs squeaked through with it in the Champions League barely 4 months ago. Very much get out of jail free as well given Spurs were very much second best.

Still least they got something to show for it. Newcastle do not look in a healthy place and with early games against Spurs and Liverpool, I'm already prepared it might get more difficult.

Siewert has been fired, with dismissal coming pretty much straight after tonight's loss to Fulham.

Ultimately not a surprise if the above posts provide an indication. Might well have been a better bet to do it at the end of last season but them's the breaks..

Hmmm... was out so missed TV coverage of the first half, where it sounded like we created a fair few chances and looked up for it. Then saw the second, when the Newcastle substitutes weren't thought out and lead to a completely shapeless look and it all just seemed to fizzle out in a sort of aimless blind panic. The embryo of something that could work is there but a lot of work is needed to be less cluttered going forward. Still think we'll struggle though.

As for the boycott some fans do for today and potentially future games, I can see why people would/wouldn't engage in such activities, but it feels like those the two parties are just more interested in arguing with each other, which is just not helpful. Maybe its a side-effect of the lack of power fans really have in such a scenario.

£65M plus a possible loan fee for computer game favourite Jetro Willems... not far off.

Tbf McClaren got £80M or thereabouts spent on him in 2015/16... although that didn't exactly go well. Least Fulham last season means we're no longer got the biggest spenders to go down tag.

Seeing as it got rumoured pretty much every year after he left, I should've guessed Andy Carroll might've returned to Newcastle at some point or other.

Whether he's ever fit enough to play is another matter, naturally.

Bury's second game at Accrington Stanley has also been cancelled.

This doesn't make for a good omen if it gets to a "kick out or not to kick out" point. Especially with the owner already putting out a statement in response that starts with "BURY FOOTBALL CLUB HAVE BEEN TONIGHT DEALT A GRAVE INJUSTICE"

The Bury case has been spectacularly bad. It appears the owner got around the rules to take control of all the previous guy's shares for a nominal £1 fee without needing to show the EFL proof that he has the money to run the club, and by the look of it some 8 months on, still hasn't. Slagging off the players and saying they have "too many employees" straight after promotion and the then-players saying they weren't getting paid was bad enough but now rambling missives making reference to "THE INFAMOUS EFL STATEMENT" and the club's fixture suspension just makes him look like a clown.

I'm aware the previous owner spent unsustainable amounts of cash, which doesn't help at all, but it has got to a really bad way that we could be on the verge of an expulsion like what happened to Maidstone & Aldershot in the early 1990s. Even if that doesn't happen, the Fit & Proper Persons Test is going to need extreme revision because this might be the ultimate demonstration it doesn't work.

Imagine its a geographic thing, in that RTE only works if you live in Ireland.

Can happen - while on holiday in Spain last year, I found quite a few clips on YouTube that are region blocked in the UK from TV shows I like.