The Lusophone

1 hour ago, Colly said:

Is there a "rest of the world" vote?

Yes, but only for the televote.

8 hours ago, DFF said:

Also, can't believe UK votes Israel 1st. Fucking idiots. 

They and like 15 other countries, plus the rest of the world.

France and Spain both turning up is unprecedented.

Norway's song felt like it was the Disney film version of the original story that Ireland's song was.

Spain turned up this year! Spain never turns up! What on earth is going on?!?!?!

22 minutes ago, Adam said:

I think it's a good move to have more EFL games on, personally - but on that last point, are they legally allowed to show 3pm Saturday kick-offs?

Blackout only applies if Prem sides are playing at the same time it seems.

Madness. Would love him at Argyle.

There's very few people currently playing for the club I'd definitely keep but the problems United face are both that there's very little value in the squad, and not being in Europe will hurt the club's ability to attract players. But y'know, that's their own fault, based on how poorly they've run the club. 

I was discussing this on a discord this morning, and basically came to the conclusion that out of the current squad I'd really only try to keep:

That's a massive clear out that likely wouldn't happen over a single window, but probably should. Even then, United probably don't get great value for most of them (bar a theoretical Bruno or Rashford transfer). So United would have to be much smarter than they've been previously. One player they should bring in is Tosin Adarabioyo, who is out of contract at Fulham in the summer iirc. He's big, not bad on the ball and from Manchester, which matters for some people. Similarly, Danny Welbeck's an option - he has more goals this season at 33 than Antony, Martial and Sancho combined and is home grown, if that still matters.

I don't know how attractive a not-in-Europe rebuilding Man Utd will be to certain players, but if they can manage it, Bologna (4th in Serie A) have a couple of players that could very much improve them - Lewis Ferguson is a current international for Scotland with more than 200 professional league games under his belt in midfield at just 24 and has been impressive for them. Joshua Zirkzee isn't the player he was predicted to be when he first broke through at Bayern but he'd be a good facilitator-style forward who could link up play well. Whether they'd come from the successful Bologna to whatever it is United will be in the summer is a big question, especially as I imagine other teams will also be looking at these players.

1 hour ago, Chris2K said:

From the "we can't have nice things" collection, we now have:

 

I've seen worse monkey paw deals, but not many.

LANDO

So that's LeBron at Liverpool, Brady at Birmingham, Farrell at Leeds and Reynolds and McElhenney at Wrexham. Feels like American celebrities are just spinning a wheel at this point and going with whatever pops out.

So, I have a dilemma. these guys are loved by the fans and relatively good. But one of them is my closer who just gave up five runs in the 9th innings of a deciding playoff series game, and the other guy is a useful hand but wants to start, but he's no longer the guy.

If I get rid of them, the fans will hate me, but I really think I can upgrade on them. What would y'all do?

After playing Leeds about 22 times this season, I wouldn't mind never seeing them again.

1 hour ago, The Lusophone said:

A monster header from Joe Edwards has us 1-0 up and staying up. Birmingham get the relegation they've deserved since sacking John Eustace as it stands.

On the final day of the January transfer window, some bald fraud who was allegedly our manager told Joe Edwards he should find a new club, after Edwards came to him with concerns about how the club was performing. Today, the bald fraud is unemployed and Joe Edwards scored the goal that keeps us in the Championship!

A monster header from Joe Edwards has us 1-0 up and staying up. Birmingham get the relegation they've deserved since sacking John Eustace as it stands.

It's the year of the IPP player.

West Ham are hiring a Spanish-speaking former Real Madrid manager who won their first trophy of note at a different Spanish football team. I hope things work out well for Manuel Pellegrini Julen Lopetegui.

Gilchrist was definitely on Pro Evo's Master League.

Browns owner Jimmy Haslam was the 99th richest American on Forbes 2023 list of the 400 richest yanks. If he wants a stadium, he should pay for it.

He's such a sad little man, judging by his social media activity.

And of course we'd go onto win 111 games... and get swept by the Cardinals in the playoffs.

The Bills have picked a guy who the term 'physical freak' seems to have been invented for. 6 foot 7 inches, 303 lbs, ran a 4.79 second 40 yard dash. Former Rugby player who interested the IPP, just turned 23. Could be great, and as a 7th round pick and that extra practice squad spot for IPP players, very little pressure.

22 hours ago, Mick said:

Tampa (Bay) Buccaneers:

Speaking of Buccaneers, using Loiw's fictional sets, I expanded the MLB and took over one of the teams, the New Orleans Buccaneers. First season saw a visit to the wildcard game (bloody Mets) and the second season is going alright: 

I like the logo, but it's not the best one in the pack, that's definitely this: 

He's just what happens when you try to make a trendy, forward thinking manager in a video game but you've got the quality settings down too low, so the beard hasn't rendered.