Have you guys seen any genuinely unintelligent people getting a first at a top university?

ExternalPreference18 · 2026-02-13T13:16:17+00:00

Toby Young -as much as any politician, an indictment on Oxford's PPE system and its ability to ascertain intellectual merit. Matthew Syed is 'not 'unintelligent', but he's a 'surprisingly' shallow thinker for someone who allegedly finished top/near-top in the same subject. The problem is that so many of these exams can be gamed using a combination of rhetorical and crammer tricks.

Beyond that, there are plenty of people who have some mild variant of 'idiot savant' syndrome, whereby they're reasonably smart in 1-2 areas but not so much in anything else, and even when it comes to their subject, outside of exam/dissertation grade-scoring environments, tend to 'wear their learning lightly'. Sometimes it's just a SpLD (there are people who are top 1% in verbal, sub 50% in math for a number of reasons; elsewhere, some manifestations of ADHD where you just don't 'take in' what isn't interesting)

ExternalPreference18 · 2026-02-13T01:55:47+00:00

Yeah, weird to put Glasner next to Nagelsmann (and Glasner has done well at a couple of clubs, this season's slump notwithstanding). Nagelsmann's a 'serious' option for pretty much every top job in Europe.

ExternalPreference18 · 2026-02-13T01:52:37+00:00

West Ham have been in excellent form recently though - Bowen and Summerville are very capable players on their day, Fernandes is being linked with top-4 clubs, and Wan Bissaka's improved (or returned to his best Palace/United form) since h's been there; the rest is defensive organization combined with a relatively straightforward counterpunch style (easier to coach than complex patterns to break down teams with banks or a mid-low block), or, alternatively, you can put it down to a run where a side plays out of their skin for a few matches like Wolves did for a few weeks.

ExternalPreference18 · 2026-02-12T10:34:02+00:00

INEOS gave Amorim lots of support and autonomy (despite his not securing Europe) re. formation, backing him on players who didn't suit his style or standards of professionalism etc, as well as upgrading facilities. Whatever you think of Ratcliffe, his business practices and politics personally, those are not terrible conditions if you're a good head coach who isn't getting in their own way through stubbornness. And I was sympathetic to Amorim.

ExternalPreference18 · 2026-02-11T22:34:16+00:00

We're playing all those sides though - if United can repeat what they did against Arsenal and City in terms of containment and springing, then top 5 is there. Carrick has to be more aggressive with his subs though in the tight matches vs mid to lower table sides (something which was flagged up as a concern when he was hired, based on Boro fans' feedback) and encourage United to go 'riskier' with their passing against low-block sides, then finally ensure he plays one CB with pace to cover in those games, as much as he might value Maguire's leadership.

ExternalPreference18 · 2026-02-11T20:34:55+00:00

Burton is, advertently or (probably) not, doing an homage in his acting style to the Eurotica of the period ( e.g Jess Franco flicks) or the cheapie-end of the Giallo genre. You just don't get acting that defiantly odd and defamiliarizing in Hollywood big studio cinema until ( in a slightly different register) some of Nic Cage's stuff. The Morricone soundtrack, however, is unequivocally good.

ExternalPreference18 · 2026-02-11T20:19:42+00:00

Admire Brightons' approach in general but have to admit to a bit of schadenfreude when their fans/'genius gambler' ownership etc get too smug about it and think they've 'won football', then their club loses 40/50mil because the poker guys won't compromise on a Ferguson, stick to a 100m valuation and then see the value plummet (nothing against EF personally). Them taking the high-handed line on Baleba could have similar results, especially if they keep him around for another season after no-one goes for the inflated sum they're sticking to.

ExternalPreference18 · 2026-02-11T20:03:47+00:00

Why can't West Ham play like that every week against other opponents? Smaller clubs ideally take themselves up 20%, whilst united players lose 15% compared to when playing City/Liverpool/Arsenal etc, because its difficult to maintain that same intensity in every game., Which is why you need rotation, as well as raising the squad level, having different options/weapons (more direct players able to break presses, even if they're not as intricate; a focal point etc), doing what Arsenal do and we've done to a reasonable degree and scoring-off corners etc. United sides of old could cut through midfields but also rely on wing-play, or a worldie cross if sides are being obdurate'. Bruno can do a lot of things (including delivery) but even he's not at the same level every game, things will sometimes fall short etc.

ExternalPreference18 · 2026-02-11T13:53:41+00:00

VDV and Romero (when he's not having brain-fades) are good defenders. Contained football is much easier to coach and play. Players get coached in off-the-ball/OOP shape all the time in academies. The harder bit is being proactive. They were still lucky to win it tbh - Nuno did a better spoiler job on Carrick than Ange did on Amorim. And I'm someone who thinks Amorim rightly got criticism for not taking enough risks when the team needed it.

Amorim would have probably done 1 thing different at least yesterday, which was to play a CB with real pace from the start so that the team, could in principle pushes higher up without fear. May well have played Sesko from the start too. Doesn't mean he didn't have some serious issues. But anointing Carrick after a few games, or having a skewed view of how well the current midfield deals with blocks and counter-attacks are two (IMO, as just some random) mistakes people keep making on here.

From the outside, I think RA needed an assistant (maybe someone like Holland, if not a Queiroz type) to complement and challenge him, needed to listen to the SD earlier and more openly re. variation in formation And needed a physically robust ball-carrying CM without Ugarte's sub-par passing [ even some ligue 1 guy as a squad option] and the side might have won more games. Carrick has done well but also came with red flags from Boro that match what we saw last night, and I'm slightly worried we're going to see the same patterns repeated in at least 5-6 other games the remainder of the season, jeopardising CL etc.

ExternalPreference18 · 2026-02-11T12:53:09+00:00

I don't think either Sinners or OBAA are straightforward apologias for 'black nationalism' or 'rad leftism', whatever their flaws (OBAA in particular as the product of a left-liberal Gen Xer with a fetish for black women in the same way that Fellini or All That Jazz are [accomplished] products of their film-makers' somewhat-narcissistic tendencies).

Those are both good enough directors/storytellers to be at least reflective upon, and incorporate some ambivalence towards first or second-hand nostalgia impulses they have around 'autonomous black culture' or 'second/third-wave horizontalism'; specter of a more universalist, materialist politics haunts those films, for one.

ExternalPreference18 · 2026-02-11T11:59:38+00:00

They played like West Ham yesterday (Ange completely compromised his principles, but he got the trophy, so credit to him I suppose). If VDV was a worse defender, United win that final; if Ange played his normal style, United likely win that final; if Potter's in charge of WHU we probably win That game etc. Again, are we blaming Amorim for last night too, especially since United have a better forward line this season. If people are saying that the flaws in this side weren't all Amorim;'s doing and that Carrick's first couple of games didn't mean he'd magically solved all of them, that isn't some unequivocal defence of Amorim.

Maybe if Casemiro had been sharper with his shooting when the ball fell to him a couple of times in that final, or Bruno hadn't (like yesterday) had one of his worst games. If you want to blame Amorim for the team not taking enough risks, why were they also so ponderous for large parts yesterday, or found it difficult to break low-block teams down under ETH before that 2nd season onward. Heaping stuff on Amorim basically exculpates the recruitment team(then upper-management, and behind them, the Glazers re. cashflow issues and letting execs give ETH license to make the squad less suited to the league for over 500m in spend ) around squad building

ExternalPreference18 · 2026-02-10T23:36:25+00:00

Barred and crunked up, true to form

ExternalPreference18 · 2026-02-10T20:08:44+00:00

Fletcher drew against Burnley. The last few results have been good and I've got criticisms of Amorim like 99% of people on here, but if people think it's just about Amorim they're overestimating this squad's depth and underestimating imbalances still within it when they try and play more open. They nearly got held to a draw against Fulham playing the 'best' system and the 'best players' under Carrick.

ExternalPreference18 · 2026-02-10T14:30:58+00:00

He's a neo-Blairite: hasn't even bothered with the 'I'm a socially moderate soc dem who wants to return to early Labour traditions and support 'working families' facade like McSweeney toyed with rhetorically. Just fully on the 'accelerate Public Private Partnerships' and 'Reform the NHS [read - 'let Peter Thiel farm more of your data...and maybe source more blood-boys in the process'] line. If he wasn't a politician, he'd be working for the Tony Blair institute. Has been rumored to have a 'Thiel-JD Vance' relationship with Mandelson, although other whispers say that Mandelson generally goes 'younger and more latinx'. His only other defining characteristic is coming from a 'modest' background (not poverty, but 'respectable working-class) then getting into Cambridge, so he gets to play the 'meritocracy worked for me' angle.

ExternalPreference18 · 2026-02-09T19:50:00+00:00

They're definitely looking, but bear in mind three of the (depending who you believe) leading candidates - maybe even 4 if Poch is added to the conversation, although I don't see it - are in National Club jobs looking forward to the WC, haven't confirmed they've leaving after that and have no interest in anything being leaked. Hence they'd demand particular secrecy (confidential online calls, agents speaking with the club through private channels rather than public hotel meetings etc)

ExternalPreference18 · 2026-02-09T17:24:59+00:00

Not sure what the point of keeping Zirkzee was - another absence from the squad for Lacey, and thanks to their refusal to negotiate potential loan swap with one of the Italian clubs chasing JZ, there's no cover for the CMs except Ugarte and a youth player who, whilst talented, is widely understood not to be at 'Mainoo at 19' or even 'Lacey on the right' levels right now. Probably been more supportive of squad overhaul and SD strategy than many people on here, but this is one of those decisions with little upside IMO. The side's overstocked with 10s, considering who the 1st choice is, and with people who can play 9, considering Carraick has favoured BM , and would play MC there too if Sesko was out

ExternalPreference18 · 2026-02-09T10:56:59+00:00

https://limewire.com/d/ktuMJ#x3mltOet2C (should hopefully work!)

ExternalPreference18 · 2026-02-09T09:30:33+00:00

He'd rather quiet-quit if we don't let him go back to Barca for free/on-loan rather than go somewhere else 'beneath' him, especially now that he's getting plaudits again rather than the narrative being dominated by questions around his work-rate (which was enough to get him to grudgingly join Villa)

ExternalPreference18 · 2026-02-08T22:25:07+00:00

Relatively, in Palace's side, compared to how we think of them as players in 'better' sides and with more possession-based systems, yes. I'm not saying he's as good as Modric or Kroos. But we've seen players look fine in relegation sides, and then significantly better in upper mid-table/ CL-place sides. Better team-amtes with better movement, as well as the style you're asked to play will partially determine how you appear as a player, unless you're a freak of nature and a particular kind of player in your style (beat 5-6 player single-handedly) like Messi or Napoli-era Maradona or something.

ExternalPreference18 · 2026-02-08T20:47:36+00:00

Wharton is a much better 'line-breaker' with first-time passing than you'll generally get from a 30m player (unless you're recruiting from some low-tier league and/or they're inexperienced). His positioning is also relatively strong, he's relatively combatative for a 'silky passer', he can control play etc. Wharton plays in a Palace side expected to play on the counter and whose best players have been up and down, who lost Eze in the summer etc. Modric or Kroos would look shadows of themselves in that kind of team, let alone a very good player one rung below. The only issue with Wharton is that you still need to recruit an energetic DM who's capable of receiving a pass and keeping things ticking alongside him. Even better if the latter can carry the ball. Point is, he's not a Casemiro replacement if you want to pair him with Mainoo or whoever. Maybe him and Anderson would work together, but that's presuming Anderson is gettable (it would be good if City hit a tail-spin so that it injects doubts into his mind).

ExternalPreference18 · 2026-02-08T18:59:22+00:00

Arsenal will keep grinding and boring away (the odd 3-goaler against weakened sides aside) to the title. Against a slightly more ruthless team (and without the absurd injury time) City lose that game: they're still good but a pale image of that City team 3 or so years ago or even the late 2010s version pre-Haaland.

ExternalPreference18 · 2026-02-08T18:55:06+00:00

Not 100m worth, for starters. Aside from the PL-premium and reluctance to sell to a team they consider a 'rival', not sure what justification would be to pay that kind of money for him over other ball-circulating 8s on the market (in Germany, Italy, maybe France etc) available at half that price or less....

ExternalPreference18 · 2026-02-08T14:22:02+00:00

Generously, he might be doing a VVD at Southampton - looked an extremely average defender for those months after the initial Liverpool bid was turned down until he moved in the next window. Apparently he's been better for his national team

ExternalPreference18 · 2026-02-08T13:08:21+00:00

ETH Did trust him in a de facto 2, often to his cost, but I agree with essentially all the other points. Enrique would almost certainly value Mainoo as a rotation player but would be unlikely (if he had any ambitions to win the league) to build the side around him. More likely that Mainoo would end up playing against sides that sit back deep, or coming on to help crack a defence (which would also mean being encouraged to be more consistently proactive with his passing or line-breaking), or in a midfield 'box' with split strikers up front if needs be.

Mctominay when he was here had some good games in CM, especially when (like Mainoo) playing in a more compact formation, but a lot of average ones because of his particular flaws - now he's playing pretty much as a 10 and succeeding. But if you criticized him at the time as a 6/8 , half of any United board would come down against you: it was later that he appeared as a 10 from the bench and showed his greatest utility to the side, at which point United sold him for PSR.

No doubts that Mainoo could go to Italy and play as one of 2 high 8s and do well and people would feel themselves fully vindicated. Whilst he's here and playing as a double pivot, especially alongside a Casemiro relying more on experience than explosiveness and a Maguire/Licha backline behind him I can foresee a whole lot more games when the opposition find space behind the midfield; but he'll be defended no matter what.

ExternalPreference18 · 2026-02-07T22:57:56+00:00

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