I guess whoever has the coin to be buying clubs will have chosen some... less-than-fair options on their rampage to the top. When they are former soviets, not even worth googling to guess how the money goes. Still, all fine upstanding pillars of the community as far as the FA are concerned.
Messi on a free\Sterling can't hit a cow's arse with a banjo.
That and the whole Coutinho (Craziest/worst trade in history) drama...
Milk almost came out of my nose when I read that Barcelona might have to pay Liverpool £4.5million if Coutinho wins the Champions League this season while on loan to Bayern. I thought it was sad enough him digging the knife in their game the other day.
Fair play to Lyon, they defend solidly and pop the counterstrike perfectly. If you are going to play high-stakes defence, like City always do, to stack the chips on possession and goals-scored boxes, you have to expect to concede these kind of goals to teams at this level. All mistakes are punished.
Jason Denayer had a great game. Yes, the man City loaned out to Celtic, Galtasaray etc. (where he got good reviews) and then sold for 6M. I think if Kun was fit, we'd have put games to sleep this season and not lost nine. I said back in January they are soooo wasteful and it's come back to bite them. Jesus is good, but no Aguero. He's one-in-a-generation.
Messi on a free\Sterling can't hit a cow's arse with a banjo.
That and the whole Coutinho (Craziest/worst trade in history) drama...
Milk almost came out of my nose when I read that Barcelona might have to pay Liverpool £4.5million if Coutinho wins the Champions League this season while on loan to Bayern. I thought it was sad enough him digging the knife in their game the other day.
And Barca wondering why it's all turned to poo all of a sudden. I don't know what makes a club buy a 100M player, and then loan him out "Because because..." (did they not have a plan for Coutinho?), but it's typical of a club with no strategic goals or long-term plans. I know patience is thinner on the continent, but this is basic stuff.
Could be as they say, the players have all the power at Barca and so the tail is wagging the dog.
It’s never saddening to watch Barca get knocked out (I only ever support them when they play Madrid because of the thought of Falangists crying into their cañas), because I’m still still still sore about the manner in which Barca and the ref contrived to get Van Percy red carded. Drogba and them also got shafted because Platini didn’t want a repeat Manure vs Chelski final. So good on Bayern. The Coutinho clause is just extra funny.
He wasn't always fit before he went to Real so whilst not at Crocky Santa Bruise levels, I wouldn't expect him to be around enough to be putting 20 goals in. Plus, does Mourinho play a style that even suits him?
I don't think Mourinho's style suits anyone these days! Be interesting to see how Bale does though. Don't think it will be enough to push Spurs into title contention, but you never know, funny-old-game etc.
I have to say in watching the barca drama. You gotta be a simpleton to let go the 2nd best player in the league to one of your rivals for pretty much no major advantage/money. Does it only hit you when you watch him score 2 goals and 1 assist in 20 odd minutes of play on his first outing? Or do you not care? Watch him go on to score 20-30 goals and lead them to the title. That might be a bigger sting than Coutinho helping win the CL while on loan.
Messi taking shots at Barcelona officials... A++++. Would enjoy again.
I'll share this with the Strut because it's one of the few places on the internets where my family won't see it:
Getting old fucking BLOWS. (Not me, natch. Mandems will attest to my ageless beauty. And also attest to the power of my moisturising routine. No, I'm talking about losing your parents. )
I dunno how old you kids are, but I'll bet my bollocks to a barn dance, younger than me. And at your age I used to think old age was like, an easy and sun-blessed bicycle freewheel down from your peak years of getting your kids through school and money in the bank (well, one out of two ain't bad) to a golden sunset over life's finish line in some bucolic vista. Your folks would always be there to share their sunset years watching your own kids grow up.
IT IS FUCKING NOT. After the peak, it's a series of ever-worsening debilitating pile-ups, or straight-up, through-the-bastard-railings headlong plummets down the side of the mountain. If you are lucky, you might wobble over the line with what is left of your shattered body sputtering its last breath. I sat there last week watching my 82 year-old mum unable to identify herself in a photo despite wearing her best seeing glasses and a magnifying glass in front of them. Knowing it's not going to get any better. Macular degeneration. She's also got osteoporosis. And going deaf. And hearing aid batteries last a week, and you need the eyesight and digital dexterity of an underage sweatshop worker to replace them. She's never had a mobile phone. She can't swipe up. She couldn't read the screen if she could. And they expect her to do Zoom calls with doctors? Does nobody think of these things?
And nobody wants to tell you this. Not even your folks. Every fucker is grinning on the funeral plan brochures. Doesn't seem to matter if your are loaded AF or don't have a pot to piss in, the descent is littered with shit certain to fuck you up. And now her manor is on lockdown so I'm not really supposed to visit. My dad was the one doing the care there, and he was all there - until he had a heart attack out of the blue last month. Life suddenly got an order of magnitude worse for mum. And the other thing is ... Despite your best efforts, she knows she's near the end and has got a knowing, weary "WHY FUCKING BOTHER?" attitude sometimes which is alien to me at my age. Maybe it comes when you are 82. Maybe you've earned it. It's not going to turn around, is it?
What knowledge am I trying to impart here?
Expect this and plan better for it than we did. Stay in shape for yourself and your kids.
It's pretty fucked up too how much of those challenges of old age seem to come down to "are you rich enough to pay for extremely attentive care or not" - either time-rich if it's family or monetary if it's professional, either way really...
My dad checked out last Saturday. A sense of relief, I feel a bit weird that this was my first reaction (instead of grief - guess it needs to sink in), but he was in a lot of pain for the past few months... years even, and that he passed in his sleep feels like a blessing as my biggest fear was that he’d die choking as his lungs gave out. Instead it seems the heart was the first to go. I spoke to him via zoom on Thursday, and he had a brief moment of lucidity. Opened his eyes wide, said ‘Hey butthead... this sucks’. According to my cousin and the nurses, that was the last coherent thing he ever said. Feels like a little piece of me has gone with him though. Fragments of my childhood and events only he could tell me about. I had plenty of time to prepare for it as the doctors gave him 6 months to live and that was 3 and a half years ago. Agent Orange killed him at 68. Nice one Uncle Sam.
hey Jimster and Duder, I'm sorry for your recent losses. My father turned 80 this year and obviously that thought creeps into my mind sometimes, and my mother is not much younger than him. Add to that the fact that they live in opposite hemispheres and the thought of having to deal with either one of them going can be a little daunting. I'm in the process of moving the fam up to Los Angeles, and my main reason is financial (my line of work in Brazil pays peanuts, but in LA it's a pretty solid job to have), but I think my mother is relieved to have me closer since she lives out in Albuquerque. She's definitely had some anxiety about growing old because she lives alone now, and we watched my grandmother wither away for a good 10 years after my grandfather died. At least my father has my stepmom and my brothers to help out down in Brazil.
A few years back my aunt, who is Brazilian but spent a good chunk of her life in the States, called me to say she had put me down as the executor of her will in the US, which sounded crazy to me at the time. It made me think about how it's shitty enough to have someone so close to you die, but then there's all this added bullshit you have to deal with. I hope you both get through this without much additional pain.
b/w
hope this weekend's lysergic EPL action helped you two feel better
And remember: there is no greater source of life energy than Marcelo Bielsa's brain. Imbibe while you can.
So sorry, D. The stretch when a loved one fades away is both heartbreaking for those looking in on the outside and must be frustrating for the one who has to cope with it personally. My grandfather, on my father's side who passed ten years ago, was a wood worker, hunter and car enthusiast. Macular degeneration and a couple of unfortunate shop accidents robbed him of his hobbies and that made him bitter. Eventually lung cancer surfaced, despite quitting cigarettes cold turkey decades before, and that did him in. This left my grandmother really depressed. I kept her company by visiting and calling her often, cooking meals for her and talking about old movies that were playing on Turner Classic Movies. I even feigned interest in church religion or Dodger baseball just for the sake of conversation. But she had this very apathetic "whatever" kind of attitude until she passed in hospice. Then there was my Dad. We were very close but he just didn't give a shit about anything which would possibly prolong his life. He loved his smokes and fast food too much. A series of strokes and descent into dementia got him slowly, like my grandmother on my mother's side. Life is fragile. Stay happy and healthy.
I know next to nothing about soccer. Just wanted to pop in and share my family story.
Hey 'Leccy. Starting to get that "Don't prolong my life" vibe from my mum. But what kind of child would I be to walk away from someone who has given up everything for her kids and has always been there for us? I expect the end to come sooner than later, but while there is still a part of her left, it's worth the effort.
Yeah let me also turn that vinyl around for you. Gimme a minute.
Comments
I am crediting Arsenal's backline for that, Xhaka was solid as... Granite?
Arteta also beat Corona this season too.
World's his oyster.
That and the whole Coutinho (Craziest/worst trade in history) drama...
Milk almost came out of my nose when I read that Barcelona might have to pay Liverpool £4.5million if Coutinho wins the Champions League this season while on loan to Bayern. I thought it was sad enough him digging the knife in their game the other day.
Jason Denayer had a great game. Yes, the man City loaned out to Celtic, Galtasaray etc. (where he got good reviews) and then sold for 6M. I think if Kun was fit, we'd have put games to sleep this season and not lost nine. I said back in January they are soooo wasteful and it's come back to bite them. Jesus is good, but no Aguero. He's one-in-a-generation.
And Barca wondering why it's all turned to poo all of a sudden. I don't know what makes a club buy a 100M player, and then loan him out "Because because..." (did they not have a plan for Coutinho?), but it's typical of a club with no strategic goals or long-term plans. I know patience is thinner on the continent, but this is basic stuff.
Could be as they say, the players have all the power at Barca and so the tail is wagging the dog.
Arteta's hair
Without wanting to sound cocky, I think Arse will finish top 4 this season. Arteta has made even our shit players good. The
Speaking of injury-prone, Thiago Alcântara to the Scousers could mean the league will be wrapped up by Christmas.
Jamie VARdy is still a deadly striker, eh Jimster?
(getting my digs in before 'Pool vs Arse)
Should've kept my trap shut.
"John Trane Train was born in 1702 in Muirkirk, Ayrshire."
- 5th great-grandfather
Next week : J i m s t e r finds out he's related to Archbishop Desmond Choo-Choo.
Getting old fucking BLOWS. (Not me, natch. Mandems will attest to my ageless beauty. And also attest to the power of my moisturising routine. No, I'm talking about losing your parents. )
I dunno how old you kids are, but I'll bet my bollocks to a barn dance, younger than me. And at your age I used to think old age was like, an easy and sun-blessed bicycle freewheel down from your peak years of getting your kids through school and money in the bank (well, one out of two ain't bad) to a golden sunset over life's finish line in some bucolic vista. Your folks would always be there to share their sunset years watching your own kids grow up.
IT IS FUCKING NOT. After the peak, it's a series of ever-worsening debilitating pile-ups, or straight-up, through-the-bastard-railings headlong plummets down the side of the mountain. If you are lucky, you might wobble over the line with what is left of your shattered body sputtering its last breath. I sat there last week watching my 82 year-old mum unable to identify herself in a photo despite wearing her best seeing glasses and a magnifying glass in front of them. Knowing it's not going to get any better. Macular degeneration. She's also got osteoporosis. And going deaf. And hearing aid batteries last a week, and you need the eyesight and digital dexterity of an underage sweatshop worker to replace them. She's never had a mobile phone. She can't swipe up. She couldn't read the screen if she could. And they expect her to do Zoom calls with doctors? Does nobody think of these things?
And nobody wants to tell you this. Not even your folks. Every fucker is grinning on the funeral plan brochures. Doesn't seem to matter if your are loaded AF or don't have a pot to piss in, the descent is littered with shit certain to fuck you up. And now her manor is on lockdown so I'm not really supposed to visit. My dad was the one doing the care there, and he was all there - until he had a heart attack out of the blue last month. Life suddenly got an order of magnitude worse for mum. And the other thing is ... Despite your best efforts, she knows she's near the end and has got a knowing, weary "WHY FUCKING BOTHER?" attitude sometimes which is alien to me at my age. Maybe it comes when you are 82. Maybe you've earned it. It's not going to turn around, is it?
What knowledge am I trying to impart here?
Expect this and plan better for it than we did. Stay in shape for yourself and your kids.
(Goes to get a Friday beer).
Bless dem Strutmen dem.
(Salutes)
It's pretty fucked up too how much of those challenges of old age seem to come down to "are you rich enough to pay for extremely attentive care or not" - either time-rich if it's family or monetary if it's professional, either way really...
You got this though. Your thinking is clear.
If you down for a transatlantic zoom with beers, holleur.
I know next to nothing about soccer. Just wanted to pop in and share my family story.
Yeah let me also turn that vinyl around for you. Gimme a minute.