Eddie

I don't want to derail the discussion, but it's very different. By going and playing in Saudi Arabia, or joining LIV, participating in a comedy festival there, or doing a host of any other jobs in KSA you are being paid directly by the authoritarian regime, benefiting from their restrictive policies, and existing within infrastructure that is built using slave labour. There are lots of reasons to be critical of the US Government and many American companies, but playing for Inter Miami doesn't mean that your salary is literally coming from Donald Trump, nor are you playing in the Raytheon Arena, and you aren't living in a society that has been built (recently) by slave labour. It's very hard to have a clean life where you don't tacitly endorse certain activities, but you can put in some degree of effort to distance yourself from them. Banking with HSBC means I use the same financial institution as many organizations and individuals I disagree with (many of whom HSBC is even investing in), but that isn't the same as taking money directly from those groups. It's disingenuous to imply otherwise.

No, but a better argument would be that we could point to several Rovers' legends who never won our POTY. Ryan Nelsen never won POTY, but Andy Todd did. So Andy Todd was the better defender? I know this isn't your argument, but using POTY as some kind of indicator of how good a player was is so dumb. Scholes is light-years ahead of where Wharton is now. Wharton will probably close that gap and maybe (there's a very slim chance) could become a better player (he certainly won't have a 'better' career). The one thing Wharton could realistically achieve is being a better and more important player for England. Scholes was criminally misused and underused by England.

This is one of the dumber arguments that has been used on here.

I've always been fairly positive about midtable finishes in the past, but it is hard to see how this season is heading towards anything other than relegation. The worst part? I'm not sure that I even care anymore. I've tried. I tried to get in to all of the signings in the summer. I saw it as exciting, I hoped things would improve. But they're mostly crap. The side is awful. The manager is useless. All this talk about 'defending together, attacking together'. We lose together. That's all they do. I feel sorry for some of the players. It isn't their fault that they are here and a few of them are better than this, but these owners have sucked the soul out of the club. For those wishing for relegation, I think that's a mistake. It won't force the owners out. It won't force change. It will just make us that bit less relevant. We're heading towards League One football with crowds of sub-5000. It won't be pretty.

Chiesa was pretty special throughout that tournament. Injuries have set him back a lot, but in 2020/21 he was one of the best attacking midfield options in Europe.

Not sure on the best fans in the world stuff, but his criticism isn't of England fans in general or how well they travel. It's specific to the atmosphere at England's home stadium. It isn't great there; there are lots of reasons for that, but I understand his observations.

Cool it. You can disagree and have an opinion one way or the other, but you can't be so confident in your own position. They do it in other leagues, and it's a rare enough occurrence that relying on 'precedent' is really solid ground. Just let other people be frustrated by what was an undeniably frustrating sequence of events. Not only that, but regardless of how confident you are in the EFL's correct decision, there's also no denying the fact that Rovers got the short end of the stick in every aspect.

Ordered? By our owners?

Now, if the club had any sense, this is a chance to turn a potential replay into a positive. Just have it be free tickets for everyone. Try to get as many in as possible. See it as a bonus fixture that can create new supporters and generate revenue from concessions. They won't do this, but it would be a silver lining if the full replay is required.

I think the only realistic and 'fair' outcome is a full replay, but that Ipswich allow us to score immediately. If we can't win from 1-0 up with 90 minutes to go, then it's at least a somewhat balanced outcome. That would also allow Cantwell (assuming that he is available) to get a goal that may be significant for him in terms of bonuses and incentives.

Save that for a different forum.

Kind of unrelated to that actual story, though.

The story is basically: I wanted to leave. I thought I could leave earlier in the window when the first club came in. Turns out the club wanted more money. I thought they'd accept less. They didn't. They indicated that they would sell me, but they didn't make it as easy as I wanted it to be. It's totally nothing. I'm a huge critic of the club, but pretty much any transfer could have this same story. It's also a slightly misleading headline that makes it sound like it might be referring to contract negotiations.

Feels like a bit of a nothing story.

To be honest, the cross isn't much better. Awful keeping, and he completely flaps at something that should be pretty straightforward.