speeeeeeedie

Maybe they didn't want to dent this confidence so early if he missed so let him wait? He put his pen away easily though. Although it was hard to miss against the Grimsby keeper. He also skied one over from 2 yards out. It came at him via a bounce or two but should have scored.

Cunha and Mbuemo should be good signings as they are proven Prem quality. Sesko is somewhat unknown but came in on a big fee so will have the expectations to match. However, it remains to be seen if any of them can score 20 league goals in a season. Ultimately I think they won't. The club is rotten (nowhere near as rotten as Rovers, mind). I have so sympathy for them, their fans, Ratcliffe, the Glazers, or Amorim. Amorim is puzzling. 12 months ago Mainoo was coming off playing for England at the Euros. Now he can't get a kick. Strange. His adherence to 3-4-3 will be the undoing of him. He doesn't have the players to play it, nor is it a formation that breeds success. Off the top of my head I think that the only Prem winning team playing 3 at the back was Conte's Chelsea, and they had Diego Costa banging them in. In summary give him a 5 year extension with hope that the UK government dig their heels in on the rail hub and make them pay for their new stadium

It was a sending off. I'll offer the two rather long stud marks on van Dijk's calf as evidence. Gordon did try to pull out. He did bend his knees at the last second but still caught van Dijk on his standing leg. The "not that type of player" tag is an illusion. All professional footballers have an aggression that could get the better of them. Some either control it, or are rarely in situations where it boils over for them. The emotion of the game both helped and hurt Newcastle. It allowed them to force Liverpool into mistake after mistake but it got the better of the aforementioned Gordon. Guimares and Joelinton spend most games booting people and were both lucky to stay on. Burn hoofed Salah who managed to get up so Burn did it again. Should he have gone? The ref booked him for the first challenge when he eventually blew the whistle. Even Trippier Slot definitely does need to sort out his defence. Konate has had a shocking start to the season. Kerkez has been at fault for 2 goals because he didn't defend the back post properly.

It's Rangers v. Celtic on Sunday. If Rangers lose their board is going to have to reverse course and get rid of him. Martin's appointment is also an indictment against Steven Gerrard who was up for the job. He led Rangers to their last title, with an unbeaten record at that. His bad spell at Villa and his woeful showing in Saudi has really dented his standing.

What a good result. If every team gives Cantwell the freedom of the park like Hull did Rovers will be promotion contenders. Hedges will probably not score again all season. Tronstad was back to his best. Hyam looks shaky. He has a funny running style. the right back looked good. Ohashi also played well. Gueye needs to go to football school to learn how to play.

You'd be surprised. Bars are regularly busy at 5am in Los Angeles for Prem games. I don't know if Wrexham and Brum have the same pull as the big boys though. I've not met a new found Wrexham fan yet, but loads have people watched their documentary. Birmingham have even less exposure even with Tom Brady trying his best to publicise them.

Speaking NFL here's a Guardian article on Man U's plan to have the UK government help them build their new stadium by funding the relocation of a freight rail hub; Guardian: Man U want government help I really liked this article. I've seen it countless times over here. Greedy owners threatening to move unless they get a free brand spanking new place to play, then keep all the profits from it.

It was plain to see on US TV coverage.

I know there is one game left but week 1 of the Premier League was somewhat interesting. Liverpool's defence seems to need some work. Arsenal were lucky to beat Man U. A Man U team with a new look front line yet what's behind them hasn't changed. I am not at all convinced that Amorim's 3-4-3 will work. Spurs fans will think they are going places after battering a Burnley side that will struggle to get to 17th. Brentford's result was no shock. Losing a good manager and replacing him with someone with no experience rarely works out. Chelsea look like Chelsea. Expensive misfits struggling to play together. I did like Acheampong at the back. He's only 19. Over the course of the season will Sunderland beating West Ham be surprising? Or will Potter not last until Christmas?

It is very early on but like many others I can see this team being relegated. Poor players playing for a poor manager. New signings don't seem good enough, and it's looking like the club captain is off too. Brum's goals came from schoolboy mistakes. 2 missed tackles for the pen, and an almighty cock up by everyone for their winner. After the equaliser Rovers were on the front foot. Only a great save from their keeper stopped it being 2-1 Rovers. Que sera. It's all Venkys fault.

My point being that the club said they'd do something and didn't follow through with it; something football clubs do all the time. Contract values are eye popping to you and I but it's the going rate for top class players. The amounts you cite should have that context. Ashley Cole's line in his book about him almost crashing his car on hearing that Arsenal were offering him "only" £55k a week grates most people. However, to him it was a ow ball amount. To him, one of the world's best full back's playing for a top Prem team should get more. Man U laid off hundreds of employees yet find the cash to pay £150m+ on new strikers. Barcelona tried to boot their team captain so they could sign Rashford. Sheff Wednesday are on the brink. Rovers offer peanuts to established players. Go back further. There used to be a maximum wage. Who did that benefit? Clubs used to hold player registrations even after contracts expired. How did that help? It's a tale as old as time; bosses v. workers. Yet in this case the bosses don't have all the control as the workers are a ridiculously finite resource who cannot be easily replaced, unlike most of us.

I have no sympathy at all for football clubs. They routinely screw over players. Not the high profile ones, but those at the bottom trying to make it. If what I read earlier is to be believed Newcastle told Isak last summer that they'd negotiate a new deal in the summer of 2025. They decided not to. Isak also allegedly told Howe twice at the end of the season that he wanted to leave.

The commentator I listened to said that he had 13 touches before going off. In comparison Travis had had 60+ by that point. Henriksson was completely ineffectual. I'm not going to judge him one one game though. I was surprised that he played at all as he was such a recent signing. As to the game Rovers looked a bit disjointed, which is not surprising given the summer in's and out's. West Brom looked organised without anything special. Nat Phillips is a good signing. Set pieces and final balls were pathetic. Ohashi worked hard and should have had a penalty. Gueye was superb at the Hawthorns last season. He looked like he'd forgotten how to play on Saturday.

The topic title changed. It was one of the greatest ever on this board. I had absolutely no clue what it referenced. Now it's as plain as day. Smiles are few and far between on here can it be changed back to Harold Varner 111? It will brighten my day up.

As much as I loved watching Speedie play, he was 32 when he left Rovers. I doubt that he'd have been able to replicate his form in the Premier League. A separate point but I've really enjoyed reading these comments. What an utter shame that the current climate of the club is in such a state that protest ideas, lack of season ticket sales, and what freebie is coming in are the main topics of conversation. Venkys out.

Sutton was an important factor. He was the missing piece. He and Shearer scored 50 goals between them in 94-95. Prior to him any of Shearer's strike partners together barely mustered double figures in league goals. In 93-94 if Shearer had a more prolific strike partner Rovers would have won the league then too.

It was. I was in the Jack Walker lower very close to the incident and was convinced Berg got the ball. I've not seen it for a few years and it's even more a non-penalty. The move starts at 17.15 with a big boot from Schmeichel; Rovers were robbed at Old Trafford that season too. Lost 1-0. A perfectly good Sherwood header was disallowed for a push by Shearer on Roy Keane. Start at 0.45 if you don't want to see their goal. Watch Keane. He completely lost the flight of the ball.

He won player of the year too in 93-94 above Shearer, who was banging them in weekly. Batty was an exceptional player. I'd have him in before Sherwood any day. I'll go with a formation fit for 2025; Friedel Salgado Nelsen Henchoz Le Saux Batty Tugay Warhurst Bellamy Shearer Duff I have Warhurst in there as he'd have been an England regular without injuries. He had it all. Proof of that was him being signed by Sheff Wednesday from Oldham as a central defender, they stuck him up front in a pinch and he scored goal after goal. Rovers signed him and he played central midfield like he'd always played there.

I watched the last 15 minutes and about 10 minutes of extra time. I also watched extra time in the Sweden game. In both cases the two sets of players looked dead on their feet around 95 minutes which got me wondering; why do women play 90 minutes, and then 30 minutes of extra time? Would 80 mins, and two 10 min periods not be better for the game? Women play best of 3 sets in major tennis tournaments. The men play best of 5. The WNBA has 10 minute quarters. The NBA has 12 minute ones. Women do 100m hurdles. Men 110m I'm sure that there are more examples too. Has it been discussed by FIFA or UEFA?

Even with favourable game times for me I saw very few matches. It wasn't something that was on my radar. I did watch yesterday though as I had spare time due to being sat in an airport waiting for my delayed flight, as is the norm at the moment over here. The South American teams are mid-season so are fully match fit. City wanted nothing to do with the tournament as their early exit proved. What do Chelsea do now? The Prem season starts in a month. Do they get any time off? Will they have any preseason?

Some pundit was on US TV a couple of seasons ago, it may have been Thierry Henry. They were lamenting the perennial failures of PSG. The sheikh's who own them wanted flash and glamour so they'd been buying up star after star and getting nowhere. Their point was that they should scrap it and start again with young French players. They didn't go that far but did go with youth, expensive ones, but it's worked out. Their ability to press is excellent, and they are all good enough footballers that they can receive the ball anywhere and not worry. As for Real I think Mbappe is one of many problems. He didn't play all tournament yet comes back in for the final and does nothing. He has a penchant for sulking too.

I flicked between the women's game and the Real Madrid v. Dortmund CWC game on Saturday. England women were disjointed. I wonder if the selection process has played a part in unsettling the squad. As to the other game, watching Jude Bellingham is a pleasure. He wasn't overly influential in the game but he oozes class. I reckon that you could stick him in any position and he'd excel.

He did. He and his brother veered off the road in Spain; ESPN: Liverpool's Jota dies in car crash

I watched a good game last night. Bayern beat Boca Juniors 2-1. It was end to end stuff with Bayern wining it late thanks to a nice Olise finish. Kane scored first for Bayern. Boca's equaliser was a really good goal. The game was a full house in Miami. Boca fans never stopped signing and chanting.

Match kick off times are favourable for me so I'll probably watch a few games but won't go out of my way to make sure that I'm sat in front of a TV for any particular fixture. US TV is promoting it well but tickets sales are low. Add in the US government's declaration that immigration officers will be present to aid security at stadiums means that I doubt they'll sell what they projected.