Ginko

Feel the same, but surely we have to change something in the hope that it improves? Or perhaps give a new manager the rest of this season to begin implementing ideas so we kick on from the start of next season, whatever league it is that we're playing in. Must be heartbreaking for Jack, probably his final season in a Villa shirt, as captain and to go down playing the way we are.

Probably because he got us promoted and oversaw that run of games. I hope he does go, though. As others have said, he doesn't learn from his mistakes and we've been crap for a while now. I was never completely sold on him in the Championship, to be honest. He got us up, fair enough, but we should have been in and around the automatic places with the resources we had. I don't think he'll go, but if/when we do go down, I hope we don't stick with him in the Championship. A new approach is needed. We need to be destroying that league and get promoted that way for sustainable success in the Premier League, though obviously Norwich would be the exception that proves the rule for that. I hate talking like this, like it's already a foregone conclusion that we're down, but I haven't seen any kind of change or improvement on the way we play. We don't look like we're capable of beating anybody at the moment.

They have a couple of obstacles with hanging wires that give you a nasty jolt if you brush against them; the aim being to avoid them of course, which is easier said than done. The first was a low net where you crawled on your belly through mud. I think they had wires running across the top of the net that zapped you too. The other one was the last obstacle before the finish line and was just an area where wires hung down and they encouraged you to just run on through rather than take your time. I just pegged it, but got shocked twice. My girlfriend took about five minutes to get through as other people blundered past her, but to her credit she didn’t get shocked once.

I did my first ever Tough Mudder yesterday My girlfriend had done a couple before with some old work friends but this time it was just me and her (another friend was meant to come but he injured his knee). It was really good fun, I highly recommend it. I’m not super fit or buff or anything like that. We signed up for it back in April and gave ourselves a few months to work up our fitness. We started off well but tailed off in the last month. Still, we were fine. You can go at your own pace so we lightly jogged most of it and walked parts too (the course is 8.8 miles) and I think of the 25 or so obstacles, we only skipped a couple due to them being physically impossible for us (lack of upper body strength, mainly). I did all the ones I was capable of doing though, including stuff like ice baths, getting electric shocks (got shocked four times in total, not fun but not too bad either) and very cramped spaces. I wouldn’t go as far as to say I’m claustrophobic, but I certainly don’t enjoy not being able to move much. Really glad I did it though. It was held at Cholmondeley Castle in Cheshire. Beautiful grounds and the weather and temperature were perfect. Highly recommend it to anyone. You get a completion T-shirt and headband, as well as an ice cold beer at the end.

Yup, I actually played football at the local rec ground yesterday and since I get there quite early before our time slot, I end up talking to a couple of guys who work there. I live in Nottingham and it’s a Forest-owned facility, so naturally most of the guys running it are local lads and Forest fans. We were chatting about the ‘incident’ and whereas both of them agreed it was the wrong call, one of them goes, ‘Yeah, but I bloody hate Grealish. In fact I’d say he’s about my most-hated player.’ Naturally I scoffed, and he’s clearly just a jealous Forest fan, but I humoured him and asked him why. ’Honestly? Mainly it’s the shin pads thing. Totally unprofessional. And his hair too. That and he’s always going out getting pissed on holiday and posting it on social media.’ I told him how dumb that all was and pointed out some facts to him, but that’s the image he probably has with a lot of fans of other clubs and the wider media. Complete bollocks of course, but what can you do?

We’re the same person, remember? I can’t be my own best man now, can I?

Her name is Holly (two years last month) and our internet is decent nowadays, thank you very much.

I can genuinely only think of one person who I could ask to be best man, and even him I'm not sure of. I barely see my uni mates any more and I never really had any close friends growing up (well, one, but in sixth form my girlfriend at the time cheated on me with him so that put an end to that friendship). So yeah, @Stevo985 and @StefanAVFC, I may have a job for you in a few year's time. I can see the speeches now... 'I remember that one time on Rocket League...', and 'So we were playing GTA Online, right. @lapal_fan had just finished running Rich over for the fiftieth time that night...'

I’m just worried that the fact we were so dominant for most of the game was only down to the fact that Bournemouth sat back because they were already two goals to the good. I hope not, but I think it’d have been a far more even game possession and chances-wise had they not had a two goal lead so early on. Hope I’m wrong but I think we’re going to struggle this season. Not sure where the goals are going to come from. I think we’ll be signing a striker in January.

I didn’t get that impression. I got the impression that he’s known Grealish since he was a teenager breaking into the first team and he was happy for him to see how far he’s come. I just think Woodward’s Partridge way of speaking can come across a little strangely is all. It was a nice interview.

But pales in comparison to the experience we have in John Terry. Look, Bjarnason wasn’t going to get into the starting eleven anyway, and if all he can bring is experience (which, again, of the PL he has none) and not much in the way of ability, then what’s the point?

I know your opinion is that Bjarnason has experience playing against top players and top teams in other leagues around the world, and you’re right in a way, but I really don’t think that side of him would have been all that useful in the Premier League - of which he has no experience at all. He’s just not all that great a player, it doesn’t appear he particularly bonded with the rest of the squad and we don’t need him for what little useful experience he may bring anyway. If I’m a young player in our squad and I want advice on playing at the top level, against the best players and playing in the Premier League, I’m going straight to the assistant manager’s office.

Gotta respect the guy if he just wants to play football. He’s a decent but limited footballer, and certainly not Premier League level. Mutual termination to me doesn’t sound like we’ve paid off his contract in full, but rather we’ve met somewhere in the middle where both parties are happy to shake hands and move on. I wish him well and this was probably for the best for both him and us.

Guilbert and Grealish, though I’m tempted to swap Jack for McGinn. I think McGinn will get more goals but Jack will get more assists and better midfield stats overall, plus my team’s name is ‘Golden Grealish-ous’ so really I have to have Cap’n Jack, don’t I? Probably wrong though. I don’t do enough research into Fantasy Football to be any good at it

I don’t remember telling you guys about that...

That guy on Twitter has admitted he just likes to ‘take the piss’ so I wouldn’t give what he said a second thought.

I'm a bit confused too, but NV's comments above (I believe he's seen the kits, right?) seem to suggest that away and third kit mock-up are pretty much correct but the home strip is not? Guess we'll just have to wait until they're unveiled, whenever that is. Sometime in July I think I read? Nice and specific.

How small is your bench?

My Leeds-supporting mate seems to think we've got no chance - reckons Bielsa will walk if they sell him. I don't think this one will happen and, as others have stated, you'd like to think we could find someone playing abroad for cheaper. I don't think it's a stretch to think we have enquired about him, but I think that's about as far as it's gone. I'd be happy if we signed him, mind you.

Even though I know he’s signed and it’s been officially announced by the club, the fact this thread still has a ‘loan in’ tag makes me anxious. Is this normal behaviour?

Yup. I don’t think he creates enough for himself to be a good Prem striker, much less a top one. £25 million could be better spent elsewhere.

Second playthrough for me, this time on the Switch (mate leant me his Wii U first time) and I still love it. I’ve been working through the DLC lately which I did find a bit of a slog at times, but I have my cycle zero now which is fun and will help me locate the last twenty or so shrines. The Master Sword upgrade quest is a ball ache though. Some of those levels are tough without your equipment and it’s straight back to the start if you die. Just did the medium level (the last 5 were much easier than the 5 in the dark before them) but I’m not sure I could do the next upgrade assuming it gets even tougher.

Either the tunic like @Stevo985 says, or I believe you could find some peppers on the plateau to cook that would give you buff against cold for a time. Either that or I think equipping a torch (that’s aflame of course) protects from the cold.

I thought it was brilliant but a couple of my friends who love these films more than I do came out of it quite disappointed, so you’re not not alone @leemond2008. I’d need to see it again for a proper deconstruction but there’s only a couple of things that irked me...

He’d only be a skeleton if he was revived. Only his bones were sent to Winterfell, I think. The Arya sex scene didn’t really bother me, you didn’t really see much of anything by GoT standards and it’s character-driven, reminding us she’s now a grown up and seemingly gets whatever she wants since she’s a badass, etc. I think the fact you didn’t see the NK in the last shot with the rest of the walkers (unless I missed him) suggests he’s not there, so I don’t think their plans are going to work. Slow episode but clearly the calm before the storm. I still enjoyed it.