I actually like it. It's all part of the event. Poulter just teed off. He was giving the crowd a bit before his drive.

The USA have a much stronger team. They have 8 of the current world top 10; Official World Golf Ranking | PGA TOUR Stats Stricker left out Patrick Reid. He is a very good golfer and has had his moments at prior Ryder Cups. I'm guessing that Stricker thought that Reid + DeChambeau + Koepka was too much but as Reid had had the poorer season he lost out. DeChambeau should be an excellent partner in the foursomes. He'll whack the ball for miles and his partner will play a tidy short game. McIlroy had a few years in the sun but now spends every tournament driving his way to oblivion. I can't see Hatton, Wiesberger, or even old hands Poulter and Westwood being able to overcome the USA's power.

The Ryder Cup is a few days away. It's one of my favourite sporting events. It's always a good watch. The US captain gets to pick 6 of his 12, the European only 3. Here is a good BBC summary; Ryder Cup 2021: Format, schedule, teams and how to follow - BBC Sport I'd have to favour the USA this time out. It's on US soil with very few European fans, and a strong US squad. However, the wild card is cohesion. The European lads tend to really get along, whereas the US have had issues in the past. This time out it's DeChambeau and Koepka. Can they put their differences behind them for the week? Stricker has his work cut out. Harrington has gone with experience. Westwood, Garcia, and Poulter are all at the tail end of their careers, but all know how to win Ryder Cups. Rahm is a talent, but can be wayward. I wonder if he and Garcia will be paired up?

I grew up watching Saint and Greavise on a Saturday lunch time. It was a while before I learned that they were both former footballers. Oh how life was without YouTube and Google. He scored boatloads of goals. Was he a selfish type? Did teams he play on succeed or did he take all the limelight?

I'm late with my annual Champions League thread. We all know that the usual suspects will be there at the end but I do enjoy watching it. Here are the groups; Group A Man City, PSG, RB Leipzig, Bruges Group B Atletico Madrid, Liverpool, Porto, AC Milan Group C Sporting Lisbon, Borussia Dortmund, Ajax, Besiktas Group D Inter, Real Madrid, Shakhtar Donetsk, FC Sheriff Group E Bayern Munich, Barcelona, Benfica, Dynamo Kyiv Group F Villarreal, Man United, Atalanta, Young Boys Group G Lille, Seville, Salzburg, Wolfsburg Group H Chelsea, Juventus, Zenit, Malmo

Apparently UEFA banned Hungary from having home fans for 3 games for prior racist chanting. Last night's game was under the direction of FIFA hence the full house. Should the lower body's ruling not be followed by FIFA? As to the game, Hungary weren't good. Certainly not the all action team that caused France fits but England were comfortable winners. Andorra next. England didn't look like a team who were bereft of confidence after a heartbreaking loss last time out. In 18 months time this team will be stronger. Foden, Rashford, and Greenwood, weren't in this squad. Only Henderson, Walker, and Tripper are 30 or over.

I'm surprised that Chappelle made it to Britain. He is a funny one though. Chappelle's Show is brilliant. I can watch his Charlie Murphy (Eddie's brother) skits over and over.

I do agree with you that for the USA to make it big either the MLS needs to start offering big money to players, although that will trigger memories of the old NASL arms race and eventual bankruptcy, or ship as many off to Europe quickly. It's currently the latter. My biggest gripe with the MLS is it's lack of relegation. There are now enough teams to have 2 divisions. However, the commercial aspect and desire to fall in line with other US sports sadly leads me to believe that it will never happen, although the US fan would welcome it. I also support England but living in the USA I do hope that the USA does well as they not only compete against other teams, but their own country too.

No relevance? He played at a US university with Rovers signing him after he played a few seasons n the MLS. He wasn't the finished article by any stretch when he left New Zealand. I'm not defending the American model either. It has massive issues. However, like you, I take issue with calling the USA team "shocking".

@JoeH I'll not derail the transfer thread. Here is latest FIFA ranking list; Men's Ranking (fifa.com) The USA is currently 10. "Shocking" isn't what I'd describe them as. They are on a par with the likes of Sweden, Switzerland, and Denmark. They also beat Mexico twice this summer.

The US team aren't shocking, and neither is the MLS. They aren't Brazil 1970 but they are solid. They are predominantly young, with the majority of the squad now playing in Europe. If they find a goalscorer they will cause teams problems at the next World Cup. One of Rovers best ever players was American. Ryan Nelsen played their for a few years too. The MLS isn't the Premier League but it is a decent standard of football that is getting better. I could opine for days on talent development of for sports in the USA. Up to u18 the USA's footballers are on par with anyone else in the world. It's after that where it needs fixing.

I have played football in a lot of places, but nowhere had harsher conditions than Blacksnape. It was never sunny, mostly raining, and always windy. When Klopp was early on in his Anfield tenure he commented that he understood why England struggled to play good football because it was always windy. It took him a while to get used to it.

I stand corrected. 28 league appearances plus 5 as sub per Wikipedia. I thought he didn't start as many games as he did.

That's him. I don't know where I got Barnes from. Red head. I remember him being the best player on the pitch against Liverpool. Mowbray wouldn't play him.

Was it Harrison Barnes who needed to learn to play midfield from Richie Smallwood? The same Barnes who held his own against the big boys in a poor Fulham side.

For those that weren't around; World Cup Mexico 86 Top 20 Goals BBC - YouTube Belanov has one in starting at 3.50.

Paul Robinson's Rovers career ended partly because he was awful at stopping shots from distance. He let loads in from far out. Playing it across the box has become so much easier due to the rule change allowing a goal kick not having to leave the box before being touched by another player. It opens the area up, making the pitch bigger thus making it easier for defenders to do it. It's also much harder for attackers to intercept it. Back in my day - especially at kids level - it was a comedy show at times. Anyway, we might as well talk about this as Rovers aren't signing anybody any time soon. The Premier League starts on August 14th. Only when those teams get their matchday squads organised will Mowbray get offered a loan or two of players who aren't needed.

It's something I've seen too. The heady days of Mexico '86 may never return. Klopp's Liverpool won't shoot from 18+ yards out. I think that it was one reason why they struggled last season. It was like watching handball. They'd pass it around the box without any penetration. Someone having a long shot now and again would have forced defenders to think. I have a few friends who coach at the university level over here. I was talking to one a few months ago and he was telling me about a course he was on. One segment was on shooting, and how to get players to prioritise "A" shots over "B" and "C" shots. Apparently they refer to the opportunity to score. "C" shots have the lowest chance of going in. The game is indeed changing. I was always told; if you don't shoot you won't score.

It echoes what most say on here. Some interesting quotes and doesn't instill confidence that the season will go well.

I really enjoyed this article on football pitches; ‘The Silicon Valley of turf’: how the UK’s pursuit of the perfect pitch changed football | Soccer | The Guardian Myerscough College gets a mention.

I'm sure a lot of this has to do with where people live. People living in England tend to spend the vast majority of their time around other English people. It's easy to play the England stink tune if most around you agree with little dissent. oldjamfan lives in Scotland so gets a different picture. I live in America so get another one. When you have people from other nations either talking their team's prospects up, or talking down England's, it should make it easier to stick up for them. The 2 year tournament cycle offers something different. Us Rovers fans are in a bad spot at the moment. Turgid football, iffy management, and absentee owners. Watching England should give some respite.

If you'd have given me the £200m I'd have banked £100m of it and moved to Monte Carlo. With the other £100m I would have left everything in place (Williams, Finn, Allardyce, et al.) and given £10m per season either to buy or subsidise the cost of a player who would ordinarily be beyond the day to day budget. By now the club would be on solid footing and I'd sell for £400m.

The majority on here have always been ready and eager to slate England. It didn't change after the surprise of 2018 and it probably never will. Southgate is not Arrigo Saachi but I view him as the right man for the job at the moment. 7 of the squad played in the champs league final, 3 others in the Europa league final. Up front is one of Europe's top strikers. Midfield contains a champs league winning captain, and there are so many riches at right back it seems likely that a La Liga winning one won't play. England aren't Brazil 1970 but there should be optimism. All teams have a weakness somewhere. This Euro's is anybody's.

I wouldn't argue with that. The article did say that Mount and James got their Chelsea numbers which may mean something.

If this article is true; Euro 2020 – what are England's squad numbers? | FourFourTwo Then is Southgate's line up this; Pickford Walker Stones Maguire Shaw Henderson Rice Sterling Grealish Rashford Kane