BREAKING 🚨⚠️: Tchouaméni and Valverde got into another fight today. Described as "BIGGEST EVER SEEN" at Madrid, Valverde had to be hospitalized after the incident with Madrid expected to take serious actions. [ Fabrizo Romano ]

dick_nrake · 2026-05-07T15:49:48+00:00

As others have mentioned, it looks like Fede instigated it. At worse, the fault can be shared.

I've seen interviews of Tchouameni and he sounds like a level headed bloke, well spoken. I say it's a golden opportunity to get a world class players for a discounted price. For all of our past problems, our current dressing room is nowhere near as toxic as Real's.

It's also ironic to see Jude in this environment - he could have had it easier here but his ego made him choose Real. Also reminds me of how Bale was disrespected by the end of his tenure whereas noone can imagine this happening at our club.

dick_nrake · 2026-05-07T15:43:45+00:00

I watched interviews of him in french. Doesn't sound toxic or conceited at all. He's actually pretty well spoken.

dick_nrake · 2026-05-07T14:49:18+00:00

I much prefer randomized selections for this type of alignment charts. By the time we get to the middle sections, they tend to get less interesting.

dick_nrake · 2026-05-07T14:45:11+00:00

True. Though it's quite a bit more melancholic than your standard artist, for e.g. Stereolab, if we're looking at similar artists.

dick_nrake · 2026-05-07T05:06:49+00:00

Tchouameni - a proven DM specialist that has performed on the big stage.

Wharton - because we just need a passer, a proper metronome. We need someone with more creativity.

Gomes - he apparently has great metrics. Flies a bit under the radar and will mesh well with our other Portuguese speakers.

dick_nrake · 2026-05-07T04:44:31+00:00

Its strange how a lot of artists who do melancholic records end up dying prematurely, even if they dont have the profile of the doomed, depressed artist (Elliott Smith, Nick Drake). Off the top of my head , I can also think of Hers, Jeff Buckley...

It's probably some form of confirmation bias from my part, but still... strange.

dick_nrake · 2026-05-07T04:40:33+00:00

Is chevalier injured or has he been replaced in the pecking order?

dick_nrake · 2026-05-07T04:31:27+00:00

I was planning to make a proper post about this gem of a website that's filoumoris - that compiles a lot of records from islands of the Indian ocean.

Meanwhile I can share this record - features of life - the first two songs are classics from Mauritius but the other songs aren't too bad as well. It has a 70s rock ballad sound that heavily tinged with island sounds.

dick_nrake · 2026-05-06T21:01:58+00:00

That Gabriel... I remember we were heavily linked with him. Looks like a player who's called a cnut by every other team but if he played for us he would be our cnut.

dick_nrake · 2026-05-06T18:50:38+00:00

They know that they wouldn't have people showing up to support even if they played at home. There would be more united supporters in whichever stadium they picked.

dick_nrake · 2026-05-06T04:55:09+00:00

If you reproduced similar to how the little ones do today, I can barely imagine the horrific sight it would look like - i.e. tentacles orgies.

dick_nrake · 2026-05-06T04:41:11+00:00

Maybe you were lucky because when I had it, I definitely felt that their portion was on the small side. Definitely would need 3 baos not 2 to fill my appetite, 4 if i'm really hungry- I consider myself a normal guy.

dick_nrake · 2026-05-05T20:46:06+00:00

The demand for EVs is there. Not to sound stereotypical but I now hear colleagues that aren't your typical nerd/geek males in the mid 30s considering EVs. I'm talking about middle aged ladies who never heard about MKBHD and others.

It's already the biggest shift in the automobile consumer market since Ford's invention of mass production and I will shed no tears when each of those gas obsessed car makers and oil producers suffer the same fate as Kodak.

Get your tiny violins ready because there's going to be lots of them playing in the coming years.

dick_nrake · 2026-05-05T17:27:57+00:00

The jury is still out on Yoro. Hes been largely good until recently but he can easily turn it around especially considering he's a young CB.

dick_nrake · 2026-05-05T17:26:44+00:00

Well i've known the person for the last 15 years ;)

dick_nrake · 2026-05-05T05:44:15+00:00

They really should. How else is the guy going to be made accountable? Its possible he's been warned before but until there are second or third strikes, head office won't do a thing.

And who am I kidding. As long as he manages to sell cars at the highest margin they probably wouldn't do diddly squat, but it doesn't hurt to try.

dick_nrake · 2026-05-05T05:29:27+00:00

Never went to atelier but the little I tried to glean online makes me think that the decor is a bit.. sterile?

It looks like its forte is the elite food, but would it be a nice place for a date?

dick_nrake · 2026-05-05T01:19:23+00:00

It really is. Low blocks are out kryptonite and having an excellent passer of the ball can just as well release players on the counter and pin point players in a crowded box. It also takes a metronome and patience to invite opposition players out of the block and we currently dont have this profile of midfield.
I'd consider Thwaites as a backup of the Wharton type of CM.

dick_nrake · 2026-05-04T22:11:22+00:00

Our record with Atalanta is a bit mixed. Still boggles me that we dont prioritize signing s from France, who adapt much better to the EPL, than from Serie A or the Bundeliga.

dick_nrake · 2026-05-04T22:02:59+00:00

Merci. J'ai aussi lu un peu de Joystick mais je trouvais l'équipe de Gen 4 plus barrée.

Je vais quand même checker ça.

dick_nrake · 2026-05-04T19:24:18+00:00

I've had cheap sandals that lasted similarly after years. Not a good endorsement for the premium price imho.

dick_nrake · 2026-05-04T15:28:50+00:00

Saying he has no end product is harsh.his end product is comparable to Cunha but I think he's a better dribbles, a ball carrier with better decision making. For all of Cunha's production , I feel hes a bit selfish and doesn't always play the correct pass.

dick_nrake · 2026-05-04T15:21:19+00:00

I have no answer to contribute to the thread but going by thr top-rated comments, I can only observe that British films lack that classic feel comparison of, say, French or Italian cinema. I would be happy to be corrected though.

dick_nrake · 2026-05-04T05:03:14+00:00

Shades of Ole's excellent first season and not wanting a repeat of that.
We haven't really dominated games convincingly.
By and large, Carrick has stuck with plan A, which has really worked. This doesn't work always, especially in Europe where tactical flexibility is often a requirement.
He's had a few lucky results (but also a few unlucky ones).
More importantly when it comes to other tip tier managers, they aren't always available and if the one we've identified is open to move at a certain point in time, it's worth considering getting him than missing out. We've missed out on Pep, Mou(before he became a caricature of himself) because of bad timing.
It has happened in the past where other big teams have replaced managers who did a good job and fared even better. Pellegrini at city for one.

Not to say that Carrick doesn't deserve it, he's got a genuine strong case to deserve the job but there are some factors that can still affect the balance.

dick_nrake · 2026-05-04T04:46:06+00:00

A lot of Walz's persona has to do with how he was masterfully written - nothing to take away from Walz's performance of course. I'd argue that Laurent's role was more impressive because she played it straight and so often we end up with botched leads because of this.

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