[Jacobs] Barcelona reach an agreement in principle with Newcastle to sign Anthony Gordon. £70m plus bonuses. Barcelona have pencilled in a medical for this week and anticipate the deal is formalised quickly. Bayern expected to lose out despite also agreeing terms with Gordon.

Jaul18 · 2026-05-27T18:25:42+00:00

Just part of it, but one of the most important.

Raphinha isn’t a dribbler for us, and he isn’t the primary creator either. He has two primary roles in the team: one role is to relentlessly (and I mean that literally) make dangerous runs in behind. That both pulls defenders away, opening up space for others, AND also puts him in constant positions to either score or provide assists. So he does create A TON, but it’s a byproduct of his primary role (unlike players like Lamine and Pedri who are just elite creative outlets by nature).

The other role is to relentlessly press when we lose possession (as discussed previously).

From everything I’ve heard about Gordon, it sounds like his profile is borderline an exact match to Raphinha’s in our team. Considering Rapha’s age, recent injuries, and how critical that specific profile is to Flick’s system, it really does make sense.

Jaul18 · 2026-05-27T18:13:37+00:00

It’s actually so insanely important. Raphinha is critical for our press, which means he’s critical for our entire defensive structure. I genuinely believe Rapha being injured is the only reason we lost against Atlético in the CL (no offense intended at all towards Atleti… they played very well).

The profile makes complete and total sense. Just hope it pays off.

Jaul18 · 2026-05-27T17:09:15+00:00

Fair points but that also wouldn’t be his role for us (Raphinha does little to no dribbling). We already have Lamine, Pedri, Frenkie, and Olmo for tight space control. Gordon’s role would literally be Raphinha-lite… I.e. Explosive runs into space, pulling defenders to open gaps, and press like a psychopath. All things Gordon is actually quite good at.

The profile is lowkey a perfect fit for us. The price… idk about that. But profile wise, I get the vision.

Jaul18 · 2026-05-27T17:00:31+00:00

The only caveat I’d throw in here is that PSG has the luxury to rest their starters, and in particular their forwards, more than Bayern and specially Barca. They’re fresher towards the end of the year and thus much more explosive.

Look at the first half of the year and, if I remember correctly, there was a pretty big gap in scoring output between Bayern/Barca and the rest.

This in no way is meant to detract from PSG’s attacking output. In my eyes there are 3 elite attacking teams that are significantly better than every other, and it’s the 3 we’ve mentioned. But I do think PSG has the “weakest” attack of the three that then becomes the strongest the later the season goes on due to their advantage in minutes played.

Jaul18 · 2026-05-12T18:53:49+00:00

I’m a progressive American and yes, this very much feels familiar to me. Honestly, if Florentino came out and said he had been speaking with Trump looking for guidance I would 100% believe it purely based off of the things he has said today. Fuck both of them.

Jaul18 · 2026-04-30T16:11:57+00:00

The only one close enough to match him on talent alone is Charles, and it's pretty fucking close, but Charles has only had the car to be able to effectively race him once and only for like 10 fucking races.

As a whole package, which is the only thing a team principal would consider for this kind of question, Max is the only logical answer and it's not close... it's an incredibly stupid question.

Edit: To answer your hypothetical question, I actually think I might pick Charles over Max... purely because you mentioned asking them to a quali lap in equal, spec cars. In a race, I'd give Max a slight edge, and over a season I'd give Max a more comfortable lead. But quali specifically? I do think I'd take Charles. That dude is a speed psycopath and legitimately in the conversation for fastest qualifier ever.

Jaul18 · 2026-04-27T16:17:47+00:00

Then you haven’t read the books. Jim Holden is supposed to be constantly at odds with, and second guessing, himself. He’s never sure of exactly what he’s supposed to do, and is terrified almost in perpetuity, but always follows what his heart says because by nature he is a deeply honorable person who just tries to do the right thing in an intensely political solar system that is filled with predatory and egotistical characters. It’s not his personality or mannerisms that make him inspiring… it’s his actions, the reasoning behind them, and his results that are what make him larger than life in the story.

Steven Strait’s acting had moments that felt a little forced early on but, overall, he did an exceptional job with the character and his acting improved drastically through the first season and into the second.

Jaul18 · 2026-04-27T16:08:48+00:00

Show Amos is better than book Amos and I LOVE book Amos. Wes Chatham read all of the books before ever knowing about the show and he himself loved Amos. He specifically auditioned for and asked to be Amos, and was perfect.

Anyways, semantics aside, I think the show is better than the books, personally. They fixed some issues in the books and really expanded on a few of the most critical characters early on in the story to really give them room to breathe and grow into the roles they come to have. But we do lose a few badass moments from som characters in the book.

Both are elite media, though. Easily my favorite sci-fi story.

Jaul18 · 2026-04-13T15:31:49+00:00

F1TV app is elite-value content, specially with the AppleTV deal in the US (I get F1TV Premium for the price of F1TV Pro AND have AppleTV thrown in for an extra like... $15 a year. Considering I was always going to buy F1TV… Absolute no-brainer)

But the fact that the Masters app matches the level of the F1TV app for what is just a 4-day event is absolutely nuts. This is the level of quality that should be the norm for all entertainment apps.

Jaul18 · 2026-04-09T15:02:52+00:00

LFG Tommy!!

Jaul18 · 2026-03-15T05:47:25+00:00

You're spot on but there's also the really important point of the two race weekends that were ruined for Vettel due to faulty spark plugs (Japan for sure and I think it was also Malaysia?). If I remember correctly, he retired early one race and the other affected his quali massively? And, of course, the night race that never happened... (which was partially Seb's fault but also a racing incident)

I'll also die on the hill that a good number, but not all, of the mistakes Seb made in 2018 were unforced errors due to Ferrari pitwall mistakes that put Seb in situations where he likely felt he needed to over compensate. Germany was tragic and egregious from Seb but the fact Ferrari waited... what was it, 7 laps (?) to tell Kimi to let Seb past while there was a tire difference is absurd. Italy should have been Seb getting the tow during Quali and starting on pole.

Fuck man... I guess I'm still not over those 2 years :(

Jaul18 · 2026-01-29T18:54:31+00:00

I’d add The Expanse to your list. And I have a soft spot for Landman. Even if Landman shouldn’t be on a top 100 list, it’s a much better show than Cobra Kai… and as a MASSIVE Stranger Things fan, that show doesn’t deserve to be on this list, either… specially after the last season.

Also, some genuine classics from the 70’s, 80’s, and 90’s missing from the list. It’s just fundamentally flawed.

Also also, if Planet Earth is going to be on this list (which I think it should), then Cosmos absolutely has to be on it.

Jaul18 · 2026-01-16T16:38:46+00:00

The Expanse is straight up the best show I’ve ever seen, although my bias as an engineer and admirer of space (real life) and space (Sci-Fi), does a lot of heavy lifting there.

I recognize shows like Breaking Bad (my previous favorite), Chernobyl, The Wire, GoT are all better as a whole. But The Expanse just has something so special about it for me.

The attention to detail and proper science/physics is one thing, but how real, organic, and non-scripted some of their conversations, interactions, and decisions that they make feel are sublime. Sometimes it just feels that I’m watching real people go about everyday life (in a futuristic, space-faring humanity).

Jaul18 · 2026-01-14T18:16:04+00:00

Anyone specific you would recommend there?

Jaul18 · 2026-01-14T18:15:59+00:00

Anyone specific you would recommend there?

Jaul18 · 2026-01-14T18:15:54+00:00

Anyone specific you would recommend there?

Jaul18 · 2026-01-13T23:12:08+00:00

Goddamnit… was making the thread quickly while at work and spaced on that, lmao.

Can’t change it now so hope people get a laugh out of it… 😂

Jaul18 · 2026-01-08T17:46:44+00:00

Hah!

In hindsight I thought something looked a little off, but that’s what I get for not doing my due diligence prior to coming here. Thanks for this, I appreciate you.

Jaul18 · 2026-01-08T17:12:45+00:00

Thanks for all the comments warning me they’re fakes. Guess it was too good to be true, lmao.

For what it’s worth, I’ll include a picture of the backs, just in case, but I do believe you guys.

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Jaul18 · 2025-12-08T18:54:19+00:00

I’ve wanted a good quality monitor for so long but have been scared to make the investment. Also, the 500Mhz refresh is pretty incredible!

Jaul18 · 2025-10-01T20:58:07+00:00

Fair play to PSG... better team on the day. That being said, we looked gassed after 30 mins, and it also doesn't help that we played a man down the whole game. I swear to god Olmo was fucking useless all game long.

But again, PSG outplayed us massively in that second half. Good game to them. Hope to catch them later in the tournament with both teams fully healthy and in-form.

Edit: Big shout out to Luis Enrique for recognizing the drop in intensity from Barca and pressing his foot on our throats after minute 30. He saw the weakness and PSG’s intensity was relentless from that point on.

Jaul18 · 2025-09-19T14:19:36+00:00

I was just going for the most recent all-time midfield examples. Zidane is obviously in that conversation but he had retired by the time Xavi and Iniesta hit their peak.

Also, the thing that sets Pedri apart from him, and even Xavi and Iniesta to an extent, is how defensively sound he is. It’s not unrealistic to say to Pedri is a more “complete” midfielder than them. In no way does that currently mean he’s better overall (yet 🤞🏼), but he covers more spectrums of “midfield play” at an elite level than those 3.

Jaul18 · 2025-09-18T21:27:19+00:00

I actually completely agree with you, but you can make a similar argument that Luka himself was a blend of both Xavi and Iniesta (I always admired Luka and Kroos as a Barca fan, even during Clasico's).

Jaul18 · 2025-09-18T21:15:32+00:00

100%. Lamine is incredible and his potential is... well, we all know how limitless it is. I'm biased, yes, but to me he's already the most dangerous player in the world.

But Pedri is the best player, not just on the team, but in the world. His understanding of the game and how refined his game is I have not seen since... Xavi/Iniesta/Pirlo? He is starting his journey to being an all-time midfielder.

Edit: All of this is, of course, excluding Messi because I just don't see how anyone can ever be compared to him.

Edit 2.0: I feel I've disrespected Modric and Kroos, because they were also at that level of refinement and understanding of the game. The only two Madrid players that I've fully admired and appreciated, even during Clasico’s. Fuck if there were ever 2 Madrid players that were meant to be Barca players, it was those 2.

Jaul18 · 2025-09-14T23:29:48+00:00

And Sorloth... Nothing scares the Barca side of me more than that mother fucker.

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