Stevo985 Posted December 31, 2023 VT Supporter Share Posted December 31, 2023 Yeah Lineker is fluent in Spanish. And very very few people in Barcelona speak just Catalan. It would make far more sense for foreigners to learn Spanish when moving there Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The_Rev Posted December 31, 2023 Share Posted December 31, 2023 He'd have also been in Barcelona in the 80s so a lot of the institutions to promote Catalan as a language following the death of Franco hadn't really sprung up yet. I believe it was the 1992 Olympics which was the coming out party for Barcelona as a global city and as a place that would rep for Catalonia. Catalan getting taught in schools was banned for decades under Franco and that would have just been starting to spin up again, as well as cultural events having a lot more chance of getting funding if they promoted Catalonia and Catalan. Same thing in Bilbao and the Basque country, I was out there during the Aste Nagusia festival this summer (highly recommended btw) and just from talking to people out there it seemed that local/autonomous regional government in Spain tends to be full of true believers right now and funding is poured into those languages at school and in the cultural/arts spaces but Spanish is still the language of business and it's what most people's first language will be, especially if they are in bigger cities. It's interesting to see that Athletic Bilbao fans would rather get relegated than have non Basque players represent their club, even if the definition of what being Basque means is changing as time goes by. Back to Lineker though, and a wider point about footballers abroad. He's said multiple times that one of the first things he wanted to do after signing for Barca was just learn the lingo as he figured he'd actually enjoy being there if he could integrate fully with the city he'd be living in. I don't understand people who don't share that viewpoint. Surely you'd have a much nicer time somewhere if you could have a laugh and form friendships with the people who are surrounding you? As a footballer you'll definitely have the time and the help to do this too, even if you're not speaking that language at home. I've noticed Villa seem to be pretty good at getting the foreign lads into speaking English and I applaud it as we don't want to ever end up with another situation like we had with Savo where he basically felt isolated from everybody and everything during his tenure in England. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zatman Posted December 31, 2023 Share Posted December 31, 2023 Not sure who did the international commentary (think it was a Brummie) but he kept saying what a brilliant game Trafford was having. It was weird as he barely made a top class save Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
foreveryoung Posted December 31, 2023 Share Posted December 31, 2023 53 minutes ago, Zatman said: Not sure who did the international commentary (think it was a Brummie) but he kept saying what a brilliant game Trafford was having. It was weird as he barely made a top class save He was quality, he's only 21 too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tinker Posted December 31, 2023 VT Supporter Share Posted December 31, 2023 1 hour ago, Zatman said: Not sure who did the international commentary (think it was a Brummie) but he kept saying what a brilliant game Trafford was having. It was weird as he barely made a top class save He made one from McGinn that was top class and a few blocks as well from pretty straightforward shots, he played well but so did Burnley. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zatman Posted December 31, 2023 Share Posted December 31, 2023 2 minutes ago, tinker said: He made one from McGinn that was top class and a few blocks as well from pretty straightforward shots, he played well but so did Burnley. He was OK I am not saying he had a nightmare or anything but I didnt think it was a spectacular performance like the commentator kept raving about it 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tinker Posted December 31, 2023 VT Supporter Share Posted December 31, 2023 (edited) 5 minutes ago, Zatman said: He was OK I am not saying he had a nightmare or anything but I didnt think it was a spectacular performance like the commentator kept raving about it He had a good save from ollie as well who turned and struck the ball well. Should have gone on about missing the goal from 3 yards out which we did on at least 3 occasions. Edited December 31, 2023 by tinker Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
villa4europe Posted December 31, 2023 Share Posted December 31, 2023 1 hour ago, Zatman said: Not sure who did the international commentary (think it was a Brummie) but he kept saying what a brilliant game Trafford was having. It was weird as he barely made a top class save Lee Hendrie He spoke about him like a guy who maybe saw a bit of the u21s, saw his price tag and made the rest up The main Commentator was no better when talking about Moreno and his rare PL start seemingly oblivious to his injury Paid to talk about football, don't watch football Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Posted December 31, 2023 Share Posted December 31, 2023 I see Danny Murphy (why does he hate us so?) has decided that his manager of the year is Gary O'Neil and that Eddie Howe was worthy of an "honourable mention". Has he forgotten someone? 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bobzy Posted December 31, 2023 Share Posted December 31, 2023 36 minutes ago, villa4europe said: Lee Hendrie He spoke about him like a guy who maybe saw a bit of the u21s, saw his price tag and made the rest up The main Commentator was no better when talking about Moreno and his rare PL start seemingly oblivious to his injury Paid to talk about football, don't watch football Football fans when voting on the BBC Sport site had Trafford as the best Burnley player too. No-one watches football. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mantis Posted December 31, 2023 Share Posted December 31, 2023 1 hour ago, John said: I see Danny Murphy (why does he hate us so?) has decided that his manager of the year is Gary O'Neil and that Eddie Howe was worthy of an "honourable mention". Has he forgotten someone? He's still salty that Emery showed just what a bad manager Slippy G is. 2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
foreveryoung Posted December 31, 2023 Share Posted December 31, 2023 Can't wait to hear Darren love Arsenal Bent and Andy ego I don't like the public Goldstien on Talkshite drive tomorrow. Both teams absolutely bottled there last game pf the year! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Albrighton Posted December 31, 2023 VT Supporter Share Posted December 31, 2023 2 hours ago, John said: I see Danny Murphy (why does he hate us so?) has decided that his manager of the year is Gary O'Neil and that Eddie Howe was worthy of an "honourable mention". Has he forgotten someone? In fairness to Murphy he’s in an awkward place as if he praises Villa/Emery too much it only underlines how bad his mate was doing. Best off just pretending it’s not happening. 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stevo985 Posted December 31, 2023 VT Supporter Share Posted December 31, 2023 3 hours ago, Zatman said: He was OK I am not saying he had a nightmare or anything but I didnt think it was a spectacular performance like the commentator kept raving about it He’s flavour of the month at the moment. One of those players who people will notice the good things they do more because everyone is talking about them Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post HongKongVillan Posted December 31, 2023 VT Supporter Popular Post Share Posted December 31, 2023 I only just said it earlier, don't mind media say nothing about villa, what gets me it's when they do, they always get it wrong. 1 8 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maqroll Posted December 31, 2023 Share Posted December 31, 2023 The Villa result was not on.the Guardian football main page yesterday, even after the late game. All the other result reports were on it, as well as a bunch of other articles about other leagues and stories. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post maqroll Posted December 31, 2023 Popular Post Share Posted December 31, 2023 Heard someone on Sky saying Villa haven't had to deal with injuries this season. 1 7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post Xela Posted December 31, 2023 Popular Post Share Posted December 31, 2023 7 hours ago, John said: I see Danny Murphy (why does he hate us so?) has decided that his manager of the year is Gary O'Neil and that Eddie Howe was worthy of an "honourable mention". Has he forgotten someone? He's an absolute meat flute. The bitter goblin faced helmet strap. O'Neill has done OK but Emery and Moyes would be my 1 and 2. 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Posted January 1 Share Posted January 1 10 hours ago, Xela said: He's an absolute meat flute. The bitter goblin faced helmet strap. O'Neill has done OK but Emery and Moyes would be my 1 and 2. I'm shocked Ten Haag didn't get a shout too, after all he did get the November "Manager of the Month" award. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
foreveryoung Posted January 1 Share Posted January 1 33 minutes ago, John said: I'm shocked Ten Haag didn't get a shout too, after all he did get the November "Manager of the Month" award. That was a joke. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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