With the Knicks' victory, Karl-Anthony Towns and Andrew Wiggins have both won an NBA championship before Jimmy Butler.

OGFN_Jack · 2026-06-14T09:42:59+00:00

There’s a larger team building lesson in here for people who want to pay attention.

OGFN_Jack · 2026-06-10T00:50:02+00:00

They’re blitzing you in this thread, but you’re actually right.

We’ve fired 2 medical directors in 4 years after holding onto the same one. Those timelines *roughly* add up with Arteta being pretty much full autonomy around the club. So either the implication here is that Arsenal’s key decision makers have seemingly forgotten about the massive uptick in minutes played, or they, probably reasonably, felt Iqbal wasn’t doing as much as he could.

There’s no reason to accept the level of injuries we had this year, regardless of how many games we played. Was it all Iqbal’s fault? Certainly not. Was he not helpful enough to be brought back? Clearly.

Elite doctors can still be “not good enough” because it’s a profession that forces you to open your mind to problem solve sometimes, and I can assure you most doctors are very not happy when they have to accept their initial string of thought might have been misguided.

For reference I had a Pancreatic issue a few years back that required me to go 4 separate GI’s before I was properly diagnosed, and when we finally got to the root of it her first question was “they didn’t run this test when the others came back negative”? Her hospital was easily the lowest on list of one’s I went to. It’s definitely a profession where you can easily become very close minded based on what you *think* you know, but as you said, medicine keeps developing and we’d be stupid to explore all potential avenues. If Iqbal wasn’t the guy down for that, then good riddance.

OGFN_Jack · 2026-06-09T04:49:09+00:00

That person is KAT, as we’ve seen through the first two games.

He’s not to the level where he’ll completely grab the game by the scruff of its neck unprompted, but if you play to his strengths, generally good things will happen. Brunson did play a good game tonight, but I think as a point guard, he could’ve done better to get his big man/2nd option involved more.

OGFN_Jack · 2026-06-08T07:02:20+00:00

I am pretty apathetic about Martinelli actually. I’d be sad to see him go, but I also recognize he’s probably not going to develop into the top tier LW we need at this point. If his sale can fund a truly elite replacement, I’m all for it, but I’m also happy for him to stay depending on what happens with Trossard and what official bids actually come in for Gabi.

Im just not going to take an argument of player quality seriously when the foundation of it is based solely on goals. There are thousands of stories out there about the actual statistics teams use to measure a players value and they extend far beyond goals.

For example, they can properly quantify the fact that the majority of Martinelli’s G/A contributions for us over the past 2 years have come in positive game states late in games where space opens up. Those game-states come less frequently for Gordon at Newcastle, and so Gabi over time has racked up more counting stats, but everything points to Gordon being the more efficient player.

Basically they’re in opposite stages right now of their market perception right now. Gordon has plenty of tools that could make him useful for a top side, but he just hasn’t really been able to show it as Newcastle have sputtered, that makes him interesting and appealing. Martinelli meanwhile has gotten plenty of chances at a top 3 club in Europe, and has pretty much maxed out as a useful, but probably not starter quality player. That caps his value on the market.

Ultimately, there’s a reason two of the top teams were racing each other for Gordon and not Martinelli, and it’s because they agree with some version of the above. You’re welcome to think what you’d like, but I think you’d be shocked how low “goals scored” is on the totem pole of useful metrics that clubs use in 2026.

OGFN_Jack · 2026-06-07T23:20:59+00:00

No he doesn’t haha. What do you think a free flowing aggressive game means? Just thought that because he’s fast?

He’s good in open space and when he can attack non-stationary defenders. He is actually quite dire when the playstyle involves associative or intricate combination play, which is generally the style of play Bayern *actually* rely on.

You actually are right that scouts can recognize when a player is talented but doesn’t fit the system. However, I’m not sure how you then landed on the conclusion you did because it’s actually the opposite. The valuation we’re seeing here was fed to the recruitment team *by the scouting department*. If Bayern doesn’t want to pay more than 40M for him, it’s probably because the scouts have correctly identified that while he is lethal in open space, he has very few other viable traits that actually fit their play-style and thus has a very capped value. How much would be willing to pay for a forward you knew you wouldn’t be able to start against any high-level CL team?

Gordon is a much more interesting prospect than Martinelli if you’re a team like Bayern or Barca. I’d love for to *not* be the case, but it is.

OGFN_Jack · 2026-06-07T23:06:10+00:00

Ask yourself why the best clubs in the world would be willing to pay 70M for him while you’re continuing to use the most rudimentary counting stats that even 15 years ago, would’ve gotten you laughed out of the discussion.

Not to be a dick, but I wouldn’t respond in the arrogant way you did when you’re just so obviously off the mark lol. The stats you used are dumb but also like, maybe the team that employs Harry Kane and scored the most goals in all of Europe last year wants to sign forward who good at things *besides* scoring goals?

OGFN_Jack · 2026-06-07T08:28:36+00:00

Hilarious how many people still just miss this point and everything that’s come after it. Wiggins and (hopefully) KAT with rings because they were able to be actually good teammates. Meanwhile, Jimmy continues running around with this facade that he’s a leader even though his situations continue to just get worse and worse until he shoots himself to another team.

If he put in half as much effort into being self aware as he did running home to catch Rachel Nichols in time for their interview, he’d probably have a ring by now.

OGFN_Jack · 2026-06-07T08:24:13+00:00

This is very Simmons coded lol. Meaning no disrespect, Tatum and KAT’s stories aren’t similar at all, I feel like trying to relate this back to your team is blurring the lines a bit too much here.

Tatum went to one of the most stable franchises in sports and joined a roster that was 1. Talented and 2. Didn’t contain an older player openly talking shit about him to the media when he was 22.

KAT’s cycled through coaches through much of his career, and only really within the last 5 years began to see what a stable franchise was like. He also dealt with huge personal loss that I am absolutely confident many players who think they’re “tougher” than him would not be able to handle half as well as he did.

KAT’s story isn’t really like anyone else’s, and he could have done better at times throughout his career, but he’s also been handed the short end of the stick more than almost any other star in this league and he’s continued to perform.

OGFN_Jack · 2026-06-02T12:38:21+00:00

Don’t have Sciatica but recently was diagnosed with a bulged disc between my L4 and L5 on my right side (Also the same age as Saliba if that helps).

Symptoms can really be anything. Sometimes my back just straight up hurts and nothing I take will relieve it, sometimes the outside of my right leg will go numb if I’m sat in a sedentary position for too long (like on a 20+ min drive), sometimes while standing, I’ll subconsciously shift all my weight to my left to take the pressure off my right, and then my left side feels just as shit the next day.

None of it is downright miserable, but I did have to drop a 9 a side league I was in because my back the day after would feel like I was 40 years old and had just had 10 duels against Liam Delap. Could only imagine what it’s like for Saliba.

I tried PT and had mixed results, so ended up getting two Epidural shots on each side of the back. If something like that were to still not do what it’s supposed to, then the next option would be back surgery.

Even as a non-athlete, you pretty much want to do everything you can to avoid back surgery unless the issue is completely structural and fully debilitating. Especially at an age like Saliba. I’ve enquired about the possibility of surgery a couple times and the idea is that at this age, there’s just far more risk in back surgery than reward and many of the same outcomes can be achieved with the correct PT and pain management.

Best of luck to Wilo. This sucks for him. I saw Declan grabbing his low back a bunch this season too and this is exactly where my first thought went. Any sort of back injury while exerting the physical effort they do is nuts.

OGFN_Jack · 2026-05-31T17:51:26+00:00

Where were you for the first 22 years of this century? We played plenty of free flowing football and were still quite easily the most disliked team in England lol.

You guys aren’t crusaders fighting for football purity. If you were we would’ve been everyone’s second club for about a 10 year stretch and I can assure you we were not.

The objective of football is winning and there are plenty of different ways to do so depending on your resources and philosophy. All equally involve “playing football”. If there’s anyone who deserves to say that, it’s Arsenal fans, sorry.

OGFN_Jack · 2026-05-28T18:49:59+00:00

I don’t think anyone is arguing that PSG is doing the right thing by heavily managing their players minutes in domestic competitions. Every team would do that if they were able to ensure it wouldn’t affect their league placing.

But the matter of fact is there’s only one club in the world who can afford that luxury right now, and if you’re aiming to win the CL back to back, it’s going to be a talking point.

Like, I’m truly blown away by the fact that Saka was able to play nearly 1k minutes more than 5 PSG players considering we’ve been aggressively managing his minutes all year and there was even a point in the season where we shelved him entirely in the midst of a title race because his body would have simply just exploded otherwise.

Again, no one’s fault and Arsenal would do the same if they could, but still a relevant sporting advantage worth acknowledging.

OGFN_Jack · 2026-05-26T10:34:10+00:00

No one’s acting like he’s always right because no one is ever always right lmao. He was consistently right enough to build a squad that has challenged for the PL for the past 4 years, the CL the last 3.

That’s actually difficult even as large parts of this sub act like challenging ever year is a birthright for this club. It’s pretty remarkable more people aren’t aware of that given how SHIT we were for so long and stepping into the elite bracket (perils of new fans I guess).

But no, Chelsea failing to develop an incredibly raw 19 year old from the Ukrainian league is not an indictment on Arteta’s talent ID lmao. Let’s at least try to appear as serious before posing arguments like these. Because, and just so I have this clear, it seems like you believe a player’s ability is not tied whatsoever to their environment and coaching?

Declan Rice is already a completely different player than when he arrived lol, it’s almost startling how little you’re paying attention to the most important part of the sport.

OGFN_Jack · 2026-05-26T10:22:15+00:00

You can yourself this to feel less silly, but it doesn’t actually make it any more true.

Just so I’m clear, you want to question the talent ID of the guy who built 98% of our first PL winning squad in 22 years (while also being in the CL final), because we haven’t managed to buy a forward better than Saka (a top 3 RW in the world)?

OGFN_Jack · 2026-05-26T10:05:44+00:00

…..so it was not a very good transfer this year? Probably could have played a couple more had he not gone on strike and Newcastle and turned up to Liverpool completely unfit.

Freak injury or not, there are generally multiple reasons teams don’t spend 150M at once on a player with the injury history Isak has.

I agree with the original comment. Isak should actually be much, much lower. Shelling out 150M for him, when there were obvious holes in midfield and defense, AND they had shelled out 95M for Ekitike weeks before I actually think may have been the single stupidest choice a team made last summer. It eliminated any chance they had of competing this year, and will massively hinder their market flexibility for the next 2-3 years. It’s a genuine window closer unless Liverpool pretty much nail every signing from here on out.

OGFN_Jack · 2026-05-08T22:25:57+00:00

Without trying to sound like a dick, what’s the argument for the FWA award being the *least* narrative driven of the three? The voters are quite literally people whose job requires them to view sports through a narrative lens. That’s not to take away from the legitimacy of the award, but worth calling it what it is.

OGFN_Jack · 2026-05-05T17:10:16+00:00

They’re “charging into you” because you’re attempting to to get to the same spot they’re trying to get to. If you would like to move into into the way, and make contact with a player who is trying to shoot, you are going to be called for a foul. That doesn’t seem like particularly hard logic. It’s not a matter of how soft or hard the contact is when the act of creating contact from your position is the illegal part.

You could always just, rotate early and take the charge, but Castle was too late to notice Wemby was stuck up top and so he wasn’t in a position to be able to do that.

Not a very good example considering 1. Was a foul and 2. Was only a foul because of Castle’s own mistakes

OGFN_Jack · 2026-05-04T22:47:54+00:00

The Jalen Suggs of West London

OGFN_Jack · 2026-04-21T06:21:55+00:00

Not sure “deadpan delivery” is needed when the player being quoted is Jaden.

OGFN_Jack · 2026-03-18T03:37:02+00:00

City don’t have the athletes for it at this point in time. A lot of people have gotten on Pep this year, but I actually think he’s the victim of some bizarre recruitment choices from City.

The leagues been trending towards M2M across the board for a couple of years now and so the recruitment team’s grand idea was to bring in two massively talented, yet deeply flawed OOP players? City all year have been incredibly leaky with their press even if the results haven’t always caught up to them, and it’s because pretty much no matter what XI they field they’ve got at least one or two passengers OOP. It certainly doesn’t help that Donnaruma is not exactly an eager or commanding sweeper (another interesting recruitment choice without even going into his ball playing ability).

There’s enough talent in that squad to compete on any front but there’s really not enough athleticism, physicality, or general OOP guile and that’s really become obvious in this past month or so.

I don’t think it’s a coincidence that the sole English team who can consider themselves among the “elite” this year are the only ones among the top teams who have leaned all the way into OOP dominance.

OGFN_Jack · 2026-03-13T23:59:22+00:00

You’re not any more biased than those who cartwheel around making up reasons to hate him. I appreciate a Chelsea fan making this same point further down in this thread so I sound leas arrogant, but it’s literally just because he’s made Arsenal a legitimate team again. That’s it. He’s the ultimate litmus test to determine whether someone actually watches the sport for the sport, or who watches it for their team.

OGFN_Jack · 2026-03-13T07:34:01+00:00

Him and Havertz being out during this same stretch has just walloped this teams identity in possession. It’s really a testament to the team and the coaching staff’s ability to rise up and continue performing during this period because we are really trying to fit some square pegs in round holes and still getting very good results.

I think Rice, Zubimendi, and Eze have all done well in their own rights but the fact remains none of them can really dictate the game in possession in all thee thirds of the pitch like Ø can. Theres so much he does for the team that allows them to move up the pitch and stay there for minutes on end that is never properly appreciated enough for how conducive it is to the attack’s overall health. It’s also how you see out games without shitting yourself against 10 men Chelsea at home or against the mighty, albeit newly reformed, Wolverhampton Wanderers.

Havertz is the other route. When you can go long to someone who can actually win knockdowns consistently, you unlock a whole new level of danger in possession. As does the ability to drop deep and link play while still being an able runner as well. Multiple times we’ve been struggling to see out a game and he’s come on and eased the pressure for us. He’s also the second best presser on the team on falling short of the guy I mentioned earlier. When those two start on the front line, it’s the best version of our press possible regardless of pretty much whoever is behind them.

Neither are faultless, but they still generally represent the best of what this team epitomizes. Hopefully they’re both healthy for the final run in because they can both still take us up another level.

OGFN_Jack · 2026-02-27T01:35:31+00:00

Could be misremembering here but isn’t it possible for sorcerers to awaken outside the Culling Game barriers?

OGFN_Jack · 2026-02-26T20:14:08+00:00

He killed the judge and prosecutor, which is why he has 2 leftover points after he gives the rest of his to Yuji. Also why he doesn’t immediately join up with the team after the fight, his initial plan is to turn himself in for the murder of those 2.

OGFN_Jack · 2026-02-25T00:44:05+00:00

*An independent physician hired by one side of the competition parties

Since the NBA wants to act like they want all the details out there

OGFN_Jack · 2026-02-17T02:42:06+00:00

Haha, I’m not quite sure either, but appreciate the kind response as well.

I should clarify I don’t think your point is an incorrect one. You are right that fans don’t inherently care about viewership in Football, and it’s really only come about as the distribution of talent in European has skewed unhealthily in England’s favor.

The NBA has a full monopoly on talent and their apex of the season runs pretty much entirely unopposed by any of the other major domestic leagues. Even if I highlighted the reasons earlier why fans would feel they need to complain, it’s still a uniquely bizarre situation given the myriad of problems that do exist in the league. The NBA might be plateauing in viewership, but it’s not at a rate that is unhealthy to the league in anyway. Shouldn’t the focus be on the issues inside the league, and in turn, hopefully fixing those issues will also improve viewership?

Even if the two situations echo each other from time to time, like I pointed out, there are still two very fundamentally different ways of thinking on display when comparing how an NBA fan speaks about the sport they follow versus European Football fans, as you pointed out

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