Mic09

And they did it in a relatively peaceful way. Putin is getting old. Maybe a long term game of political meddling wasn't as appealing as taking Ukraine by force.

We think we are somehow better than people of early 20th century or earlier ages. We are the same. We just have faster planes and computers.

brother in law who lives in Warsaw said there is plenty of buses with Ukrainians going back to fight.

Ukraine would have lost a military conflict with Russia anyway. Information is warfare just as much as a cannon, so giving Russians a 'plausible deniability' of intentions would have counterproductive.

I hope you are right. I also hope that, should he take entire Ukraine and move his troops on Polish border, NATO won't be trigger happy. Ukraine did so well in not giving Russians a single excuse. No provocation, no rush actions. Politically, they acted very smartly and there is no argument that Russia is in the wrong. Militarily, they have paid a price for this - instead of meeting Russians heads on near their borders, they weren't set up for a military action as to not cause provocation. Entire western block should take example of how Ukraine acted in the days leading to this. US seems to be doing that by sending troops to Germany, rather than directly to Poland (which obviously has a large US presence already)

He knew weeks in advance what the sanctions could be, and he must have clearly analysed the pros and cons. He didn't wake up yesterday thinking 'shit, what about the economy'.

I don't think he is. I think his speech with the remarks of history, lenin, the Russia Empire, that's all to appease the Russian public. Propaganda. Putin is cold and calculating. I think the comparisons to Hitler and Nazis in 39 are very far off the mark, and we should be careful with those. If Putin is Hitler, the entire west should attack now. If we believe that, we need to act now. Personally, I think this is a much more calculated conflict (in my opinion).

He would call in niko kranjcar as his eastern political expert

Putin really isn't mad. He is cold, calculating, clearly an evil man. I appreciate what you are saying, but Ukraine has not been a sticking point since 2 weeks ago - it's been that for 30 years. Not to mention the wealth of the natural resources of Ukraine which must be appealing to Putin. I am in two minds about this - I cannot imagine Putin invading Estonia or Latvia, let alone Poland. But, while that is a cold calculation, I am also weary of the western leadership reaction. If Putin decided he fancied going west, how would Europe/NATO react? Would the world risk a 3rd world war because of Estonia? Surely, they would have to call Putin's bluff and go all in? Putin might fancy seeing how much he can rock the boat. But I think Ukraine is as far as it goes. I don't know. Biden clearly stated that they will use full power to protect NATO allies, but reality can prove much different. On one hand, the American public is opposed to getting militarily involved in Ukraine, but we all know USA likes to get that military industrial complex happy. I don't think Putin will attack the west. But while I was prepared to bet on it last month, I am not so sure now.

50-60m fee, a statement from Jack to explain his intentions and full commitment to Villa, and I'd have him. But that's crazy talk, he will be at city for the next 2-3 seasons.

Looking at it from a Polish perspective, Putin isn't an idiot, nor is he mad. This isn't some miscalculated attack. Over the last weeks (and years) discussions on NATO and Ukraine have been ongoing. It has always been a sticking point, and while a lot of Ukrainians are well in the 'western' camp, a lot still have cultural and historical ties with Russia. On the greater scale, this is Crimea but multiplied by x amount. Putin must realise the west won't do anything too drastic, and won't invoke any military action. It looks like (so far) there isn't a massive response from Ukrainian military. The West has pushed troops on it's eastern flanks for years, there is a large American influence on Polish politics. This will annoy Putin. While Putin isn't an idiot, he is certainly an evil man. Maybe the west has pushed the line of his comfort a bit too much and he will now take the country of Ukraine and say 'what are you gonna do now'. He is winning the battle for influence over Ukraine. Russia isn't a democracy to worry about their election result. They can act more decisively than the west can. And it looks like they can simply go into an independent country with little response. I guess Putin is calling Biden's bluff (for now). Best course of action for NATO is to increase military presence in Poland/Romania. What else can we do?

Liz truss will claim them.

Apparently shot down a few planes and helicopters, Russians are denying this.

I agree - but a cornered animal is a dangerous one. I can't see a good course of action, other than heavy sanctions that actually make a difference, strengthening the polish border and humanitarian aid. Ukraine will likely cease to exist. It might be a start of a new cold war.

And that redness doesn't look healthy either.

We will get a big, £22-24m fee for him in the summer. He is a solid player on a long contract.

I think if Madrid went head to head with PSG on attacking front, they would lose badly. But I get your point - I was also hoping for more fireworks.

He was great. I'd argue he is better than Jorginho, and maybe the best midfielder in the world. But I thought the game was good. Madrid played very well and shut down most threat from PSG. They did what they had to do - often sat deep and put 11 players behind the ball to stop the worlds best team (on paper). I enjoyed the game, but mainly for the skill on show and the tactical strategy shown by Madrid.

Exactly this. We get annoyed about media recycling any story. Easy way to solve the issue - don't click on stupid articles, or if you do, take them with a handful of salt.

It seems to me that some believe Matt Targett is not a human being looking to have a successful career and play football, he is a commodity owned by Aston Villa. He decided to go out on loan to play football, and has therefore become a bottler/traitor/wet wipe/un-ambitious, cross out what works for you. He doesn't have aspirations, a family, an ambition. Nope. He decided to jump ship, simple as. If that's the attitude some of us have to people looking to be successful in their trade, then I hope he stays at Newcastle and becomes the best LB in the country. I wish him all the best, I wish he plays for us, but if not, best of luck Matt. He is a very solid, young player, and has served us very well. I hope he does well whatever shirt he ends up wearing.

Will score a double in a glorious 7-0 victory at the Etihad.

Yeah, he looked a much better fighter but definitely was out muscled.

PSG is good.

A niche one, but I though Bennet was incredible when we beat Chelsea in 2014 (the Delph goal game). That was a great night game at VP, and considering Bennet was never a prolific player, he went above and beyond his abilities.

I know it's finland, but why is there a raindeer in the back?