KentVillan

And btw, nobody's denying this team needs a more dominant, aggressive midfielder in the squad. And nobody's saying Douglas Luiz is world class, so it's just a straw man argument to say that people defending him don't know their onions, and don't know what a top midfielder looks like. Of course if we swapped him out for Jorginho or Declan Rice or whoever we would be a better side. Realistically we aren't going to sign anyone like that soon, so it's more about how he fits in vs. McGinn, Ramsey, Sanson and players we've been realistically linked with like Bissouma. IMO Douglas Luiz still gets in that side, and definitely isn't the reason we struggle against better sides at the moment. We're missing a key type of player in our squad, that's the problem - it's not on him.

The English game of 25+ years ago is so irrelevant to the modern Premier League that all that really matters is how much football you’ve watched over the last 2 or 3 decades… and even then, watching something is not the same as understanding it. I’ve watched loads of movies and I’d have no idea how to make one ”I’m older than you kiddo” is a shit (and boring) argument anyway.

Hook

My favourite chapter is the one on unmanned aircraft

For those of you looking to understand the military strategy & tactics, I really recommend the War on the Rocks podcast. The last 4 episodes are with a guy called Michael Kofman, basically giving a weekly assessment of where things are, and so far he seems to have called everything pretty accurately.

A whole set, but you might as well listen to it all as one song

I once ate a whole portion of fish and chips the night before a 10k race which started at 9am. It definitely hadn't digested at all, was a horrible experience... boiling hot weather as well.

Genuinely though I would always just assume 2 fish & chips = 2 fish + 2 portions chips and that’s how I would order it. Nobody has ever challenged me on this.

I usually say “pan fried sea bass with pommes frites and a Perrier, deux fois”

I loved Drive, brilliant soundtrack and Gosling’s deadpan was all part of the atmosphere. Eternal Sunshine I quite liked, but agree. Think it’s one of those films that seems very clever and profound when you’re a teenager or young adult, but I think it’s just a decent-ish indie film with some great acting.

Never heard “fish and chips twice” before in my life… am I alone here

While we're ranking Tarantino films, I always thought True Romance was the most watchable of all the films he's written... probably because he didn't direct it.

https://taskandpurpose.com/news/russian-military-tactics-ukraine/ The article is quite a sobering read, but the urban legend (hopefully true!?) it opened with made me laugh.

Something I'm not clear on is the extent to which official military documents are used as an intelligence tool to mislead, and how much of this public domain "OSINT" type stuff is disinformation. Presumably there are craft and weapons that are kept ultra top secret and intended for surprise use in a full conflict? Or the flipside to that is the Russian situation, where they have clearly overhyped their capabilities (even to the extent that they've managed to kid themselves). What's the history in previous wars? I know in WWII all sorts of innovations were kept hidden from public view, and intelligence activities often revolved around misleading the other side about capabilities. But I guess it was much easier back then to control the flow of information.

There's a bit more info here https://philmaffetone.com/180-formula/ I don't actually monitor the heart rate actively while I'm running, I just chew gum and if I can't comfortably chew gum and run, I slow down until I'm comfortable again. It seems to work looking back at the heart rate recorded (average 136bpm, peaking briefly around 144bpm which is just 1 over my 180-37).

Anyone tried Maffetone running before? Basically keeping your heart rate below 180 minus your age. Just did a 10k MAF run today... very slow, but think I can see how it works... very gentle on your legs, and definitely feel like I'll be able to increase my mileage a lot doing this.

Fair point, but "Champions League" quality means different things in different leagues. Wesley played in the Champions League, as did Sanson, Bailey, etc. I don't think that means they'd be of interest to a top 4 Premier League side. I'm talking about the sorts of players who feature regularly in the knockout stages.

Indeed! And we have to be realistic about what type of player is going to get us there. When you finish mid-table, your best bet is signing players who are roughly Europa League quality. You can try going after Champions League players, but there's usually a catch - a bad injury record, a spell of bad form, or they're past the peak, etc. If we then progress to a Top 6-8 finish, we can start attracting a higher calibre of player, but it's going to be a journey.

I think hamstring problems for strikers and wingers are quite a big deal, but less so for a defensive midfielder. Much easier for him to manage it, and not let it affect his game.

I think he'll always be a divisive figure among fans, a bit like Petrov. And then when he goes we'll wax lyrical about him. He's probably just a victim of having a very calm, simple style, and also of the understandable desire to have a proper "destroyer" on the pitch (but IMO the destroyer would sit next to him, not replace him). He does all the basics well, but he rarely does anything that stands out - although his ball to Watkins against Arsenal was top drawer. Hopefully there is still another level he can take his game. A good pre-season, and he could really fly in the run-up to the World Cup.

I’m sure Coutinho and Buendia could play together for Man City. The question is whether they can play together for us against better sides, and I think so far the evidence is that they can’t. We don’t have the control of the game behind them or the talent running off them to justify having two 10s.

I’d like to keep McGinn but he needs someone challenging him for his spot

McGinn and Bailey!?

As much as we love Konsa, Ben White is the one who makes the England squad ahead of him. I’d also take Emile Smith Rowe over Buendia and Lacazette over Watkins. And the player for player comparison slightly ignores the overall balance of the team. Arsenal have a really nice mix of physicality (Xhaka, Partey), creativity (ESR, Odegaard) and pace (Saka, Tierney, Lacazette). I think we lack physicality in the middle and we lack pace (ok maybe Bailey off the bench, but jury’s out). We have some really great creative players, but there isn’t enough happening around them to utilise that creativity. So yes Gerrard has a strong squad, but it has some key imbalances that cause him headaches. And FWIW, Arteta had similar problems for ages with Arsenal. Managers do need time to get a team firing.

I thought he was our best player on the ball today, kept possession well unlike all his teammates (and I disagree he only did that with 5 yards sideways passes), but I’d like to see a bit more energy from him. Think he could be a really top player if he covered more ground. He’s not the problem with this team by any means.