KennyPowers

An incorrect statement imo. Bookmakers offer a form of entertainment. For every horse race, football bet, roulette spin, poker hand - there will be a winning customer - no doubt more. The entertainment part is trying to make that winner - you. Screwing people out of money? Nah. They have a product and they sell it well. For me they are not screwing people any more than insurance companies, petrol stations, Asda, Local Pubs and even our beloved Aston Villa. At least with gambling you have a choice and there is no set price. Personally I think it is disturbing that so many of you think gambling is the same as any other business. The same as a pub, a supermarket, a petrol station? You have to understand that there are good betting companies, pinnacle are a great company, they will accept big bets, they won't ban winners. Betfair is an excellent exchange. However, the vast, vast majority of gambling companies aren't interested in offering good odds. If you do win, they will ban you. They will use arbitrage to guarantee profits but ban you if you do the same. What's more they are more interested in weaning people onto casino games and onto poker where they have an in-built advantage and will make a guaranteed profit. That's what I mean when I said they are dedicated to screwing people out of money. To compare that to companies that offer essential services is incredibly wrong in my view. We need supermarkets, petrol stations, insurers. I'm sure there are plenty of people who dislike private companies on principle but these companies shouldn't be viewed the same way as the vast majority of gambling firms at all.

Nestle, Family Guy, Apple, Toyota? I don't have a clue what you are on about. If Dafabet were by far the best offer I understand it but it's disappointing we can't: - yes, get a bigger brand (I have literally never heard of this company and I gamble a fair bit) - get a sponsor with a local connection - get a sponsor we can form a long-term association with - get a sponsor that isn't dedicated to screwing people out of their money

Fair play to Bent he could have easily thrown a wobbly this season but he's kept his mouth shut. Let's just hope when he gets his transfer he doesn't decide to do an 'exclusive interview' and trash the club.

Yeah that's what I thought as well. I feel pretty confident he'll stay this season. He'd be foolish to move to a club where he wasn't guaranteed playing time in a world cup year.

What even is the argument here anyway? It may be a slight notch up from a payday loan company but it's let's face it a pretty shitty sponsor. I bet plenty but gambling has gotten way too far into football. I'd feel better if it was a company I had some respect for like Pinnacle but it's an Asian firm I've never heard of who have no presence in the UK. It stinks a bit.

He's incredibly suited to play DM. He's too soft to play CB for me.

Indications look good to me. He will stay with it being a world cup year so he can secure his starting spot with Belgium and move next year.

Piss poor really. At least Genting had a connection to the city.

I'll try and sum up my thoughts on transfer policy: a) I'm generally in favour of having a young team but I think we went too young last year The thing that's disconcerting reading this thread is that most people don't seem to realise that young players generate a false optimism, i.e. because of their potential we can dream about the players they might become even though the vast majority will not fully realise their potential. This was a topic covered extensively in moneyball btw, you'd have to read it to fully appreciate this point although yes I fully accept it's not going to apply as well to football as it has to baseball. c) Every single club other than perhaps the top 3 in the premier league, barca, real, bayern, psg and some crazy russian clubs are all looking for resale value. They want players young enough that they can sell on when they near the end of their contract. I can't help but feel this has inflated the prices for promising young players and surely this has changed the market in a way that there are bargain experienced players out there available at relatively reasonable wages. d) I think Lambert's approach is about building a team spirit and it is easier to do that with young players that haven't earned big money yet and are willing to adapt and make sacrifices. That is the biggest problem we have had with our big signings recently, their attitude towards the team. I think that this perhaps more than financial constraints is the reason Lambert favours young players and it's a pretty good reason. I do think it would be extremely useful to find some experienced model professionals to add to the squad though.

Liverpool fans are just scary deluded. It must have taken some serious scouting to unearth players at teams no-one had even heard of like Sturridge at Chelsea and Coutinho at Inter. There's a reason Liverpool fans should be very worried. Read comments from Terry Francona's book about FSG, how they sacked him because they were obsessed with image despite him leading them to 2 championships.

Yeah I agree. I think his problems are mental though.Maybe not as severe problems as Ireland but Bannan lacks concentration, he has quality when he's on the ball but he can't keep his concentration going for very long. I just don't think he gives a shit really.

He looks very raw but wow he could turn into an absolute monster. He lacks confidence in attacking positions but when he's in midfield he looksabsolutely fearless.

Yeah I have to admit he's one of the hardest players to classify I've ever come across. Light as a feather, enjoys throwing himself into challenges. If he sticks to what he is good at, breaking up play and making interceptions he can be very effective. His attacking forays are not good though and that's a huge understatement.

Tonight is the night Wigan go down. Congratulations on winning the FA cup Wigan but more importantly enjoy your trip to Bournemouth next year.

Let's hope they appoint a manager who plays some wingers. Their slow, narrow, tip-tap it through the middle approach this season was mind-numbing. The only times they looked consistently good was when the full-backs/wing-backs bombed on enough to give them some width. Mancini has to go down as a quintessential Italian manager, he took one of the most talented squads ever assembled and (other than a brief spell at the start of last season) turned them into a dull as **** grind it out team.

Yes I agree and we should be able to outwork most teams having such a young side. We need to keep the formation fluid, that was the big difference for me in the Sunderland game. Sylla and Delph were fairly free to roam, the full-backs were free to push on when opportunity allowed, Gabby and Weimann were changing positions. Maybe it was just a confidence thing but that's what I'd like to see going forward.

I was calling for Westwood, Sylla, Delph months ago. It makes so much more sense to hold Westwood deep and let Sylla and Delph loose, and some people were saying it would be too defensive. Westwood needs the space to operate, Sylla and Delph can use their athleticism and industry to get up and down. Surely Lambert will stick with this formation now. Only thing I would be looking at tactically is helping the full-backs a bit more defensively. Gabby and Weimann suit the 4-3-3 pretty well but don't consistently track back to help the full-backs and I'm not sure they should anyway as their focus should be on providing an outlet and supporting Benteke quickly when we use him as a target man. It would make sense to have Sylla nominally on the right and Delph nominally on the left and give them freedom to get up and down but keep reminding them they have to try and help the full-backs when one-on-one and have to watch for overlaps down the wings.

I said we wouldn't get an offer of £20m for him but I'm doubting that right now. He is exactly the player Spurs need and if they make the Champions league I can see a £25m bid, maybe even upto £30m with add-ons.

Phenomenal last night. Reminds me of a young Gareth Barry, an all-rounder, touch, tackling, composure although (dare I say it) If he was a yard quicker he would be a superstar

Praise Jebus

1-0 win. Baker

I feel bad for Geno. He seems like a nice kid. That is a horrible situation to go into.

What do you think of the QB's about to be drafted? Any of them going to turn into gems?

Thoughts on day one: 1. The Rams are suddenly looking like a potential contender. The NFC West wow, what a turnaround. From the worst division to the best in five years. 2. The Patriots must be pissing themselves. In a division with Buddy Nix, Jeff Ireland and whatever idiot the Jets have appointed. If we include Tannenbaum instead of the new guy are they the three worst GM's in the league? (not including Dallas who don't have a GM). 3. Cowboys. LOL. Their immediate future is so bleak. 4. You have to love what the Ravens, Steelers and Packers do. Just sit there, don't take too many chances and let players fall into their laps. 5. I also, want to add, aren't the look-ins to the 'war rooms' pretty funny. I mean, it's just roughly ten guys sat around relaxing.

When was Stevens last game? Southampton? I remember Ricky Lambert schooling him that day. I don't really remember that. The only thing I strongly remember from that game is Delph's stupid panicked clearance which led to the penalty. Stevens did get caught out of position a lot I remember.